disclaimer: i don't own.
dedication: the tayswift speak now album. all the chapters are named after songs from there.
notes1: blame reeta. yeah.
notes2: the fairytale things are going to be reoccurring. trust me.
note3: EDITED, changed Hinata's initial age to work with her and Hanabi's age difference. sorry for confusion.
summary: Hinata has grown up listening to fairytales, and can't help but realize that her life reflects her favorite one.
pairing: naruhina.

chapter o1:
ours.

When I was young, I loved fairytales. I can remember begging my mother to tell me my favorite one, over and over and over. She would laugh, her voice light and whimsical like wind chimes, tuck me in, and begin.

"Once upon a time, there was a magical forest. It was only in this forest where magical creatures, like dragons and fairies could live and grow. But one day, one of the dragons realized that they could leave the forest, for just a little bit, and still be able to live. However, once they did they couldn't leave again for another ten years, or else they would instantly die.

"With this knowledge, he flew over to a nearby kingdom, and stole their prized princess. She was pretty, with flowing black hair and flawless, porcelain skin, but she was still only a girl of eight. So he told the princess, 'You are very beautiful, did you know that?'

"'Yes,' she told him, 'there are many men who wish to have my hand in marriage.' The dragon decided that he would keep her here, hidden in the forest and be her guard, so that only a man who truly loved her would be able to come and rescue her. She agreed, because while she had never mentioned it to anyone, all she ever wanted was for a handsome, brave prince to come and whisk her away.

"Once the king of the kingdom had found out she was kidnapped, he declared that the man to rescue her would be granted her hand in marriage. However, if she was able to return on her own, she was to be married off to whoever the kind found most suitable.

"Years passed, and only a few men had come to rescue her, but were always struck easily down by the dragon. If they weren't killed, they ran away at the sight of the dragon. By now, she had grown into a strong, beautiful young woman that had matured very nicely. She broke down to the dragon, who had become her friend. 'What ever will I do, dragon?' she sobbed, hugging his scaly muzzle. 'I fear I will die here, in this forest…'

"'Don't worry,' the dragon reassured her. 'Once you become eighteen, I will fly you back into your kingdom.' Little did she know, he had only waited so long because otherwise he would die the moment he exited the forest. Nonetheless, she agreed, because her birthday was in only one more year.

"The year went by quickly, until it was finally the day before her eighteenth birthday. She was sitting with her feet in the creek she had grown up by, when she heard the sound of an approaching soldier. Immediately, she fled to the cave that served as her home, and warned the dragon.

"When the soldier finally found the cave, he asked the dragon, 'Are you the dragon that guards the princess?'

"'Yes,' the dragon responded, 'and if you wish to rescue her, you must kill me.' The man nodded, pulled out his sword and began to fight the dragon. As he fought, the princess realized that this man was wearing the armor of the High Knight, the best soldier in the kingdom. She knew that this was definitely not the man who was the High Knight back when she was still in the kingdom.

"When the knight was about to kill the dragon, she ran out, and asked him to let her have her last words with the dragon. He nodded, stepped aside, and let them have their privacy.

"'Oh, dragon, I don't know how I can thank you enough,' she told him.

"He said, 'Just live your life with the one you love, as I intended for you to do.' With that, he took his final breath, and closed his eyes.

"'Please tell me the name of the man who has saved me,' the princess requested to the knight, curtseying.

"'My name is Takeshi,' he told her, bowing very low. 'If you remember, I used to be one of your kitchen servants.' She gasped, indeed remembering the little boy who used to bring her meals to her. Takeshi had grown into a handsome young man, to the point where she was almost blinded by his beauty. He smiled at her, and kissed her hand. 'I am so sorry I took so long, but it's harder than you think rising up to the High Knight.'

"She had fallen in love with the once-servant, for his dedication of love even through all these years. When they returned to the kingdom, the king ordered them to be married, just as the promise ten years ago requested. And they all lived happily ever after."

"Momma," I would tell her, "I wanna marry someone who truly loves me like that someday, too."

And she would smile this sad, hopeful smile at me, almost like she knew something I didn't. "I want you to, too, sweetie. I hope you get to." And she would kiss my forehead, blow out the candle, and leave the room for me to sleep.

It would take many years before I ever knew what she meant.

I decided who I wanted to marry when I was four. I remember the day so clearly, because it was always in mind. It was my first day at the Academy, and I can remember my mother walking along behind me, her belly lightly swollen with my little sister. Only seven more months to go, she would tell me with a smile. The days back when my father wasn't cold, struck by the loss of my mother. He attended the entrance ceremony, watching me with pride, something I would not see for many years to come.

At first, I was really nervous to be there. I had never really been outside the compound, and even if I was, there was always someone with me. I was one of the quieter girls sitting there, while all the other girls flocked together and giggled at the boys. They all generally ignored me, and while I felt a little left out, my father's incentives ran through my head, too young to understand. You're a Hyuuga, and you are far superior than them. You don't need them. I blindly agreed.

I was the only girl the boys wouldn't have a problem sitting next to me. In fact, on the days when the boys had to pair with a girl, they would ask to be paired with me. I didn't obsess over boys, I hated the flower-collecting classes we had (though I liked grinding them into medicines), and I didn't understand the attraction to Sasuke.

But one day, Naruto wandered into the class. At first, all the teachers frowned at him, and taught him everything incorrectly. I noticed this, of course, but didn't really think about telling anybody. What could I do? I was just a little kid. No one would listen to me. One day, we had a quiz. Just a short one, on a little math and trajectory paths — general things we had quizzes on a lot. I passed easily, of course. Naruto, however, didn't.

Instead on laying the quiz face-down on the students desk like they had for every other student, they slapped his face-up, and calling out through the class, "Naruto, an F."

Everyone laughed at him. I didn't. I felt bad for him, because I knew that he had been taught everything wrong from the moment he had been brought in here. But he didn't get sad, he didn't get all mopey or depressed. No, he stood up on his desk, put his hands on his hips, and yelled, "You can all laugh now, but one day, I'll surpass all of you! Believe it!"

That was the moment I fell in love. Right there. Of course, I didn't realize it was love at the time. Then, it was simple adoration. He was my idol, from then on out. To have so much strength, even though it's you against the world? His hope and spirit made me believe him.

Sometimes I laugh, remembering this one day. We were in boy/girl pairings, just sparring each other. It was back when I was five, nearing the end of my first year at the Academy. The teachers had picked our partners, based on our class rank. One with two, and so on. As it happened, I was paired with Sasuke, to every other girls envy. I actually felt scared looking at their jealous glares peeling into my back.

"You know," he said, "I really hope you're a competent opponent."

"I will try my best, Sasuke-san," I told him, bowing as it was customary in my clan to do so before a spar. He didn't, but I really didn't expect him to.

Our spar was light, but I could see him struggle with my chakra attacks. At the time, I was ahead in my Jyuuken training than any other of the children of age in the Compound, which was how it should be. I was the heiress, after all. I should always be ahead. Eventually, though, he gritted his teeth, took the hit, and flipped me over. Which was also to be expected — he was not only the Uchiha protégé, but also the first in the class. I didn't mind, really. After all, he looked a little affected by the hit to his arm.

He sat down beside me after our spar, and I was a little surprised. Usually, he would sit at the end of the field with his partner until we were all called back in. He noticed this, and explained.

"You're the only girl here that doesn't try to grope me constantly," he said, his voice not necessarily cold, but not really flowing with the fountain of emotion either. "I was actually a little thankful I got put with you."

"I'm going to be a kunoichi," I told him, quoting my father. "I'm not going to go chasing after boys. It's not what I'm supposed to do at this age."

"That's a good philosophy to live by," he said, surprised.

I smiled. "It's what I've been taught all my life."

"Your mom's never even told you girly fairytales or anything?" I was surprised at the mention of family. With everyone else, he got insidiously gloomy every time the subject was ever even mentioned.

"Well, yes, of course she did," I said, remembering my fairytales. "And I love all of them. But there's a time for romance, and it's not now." I noticed him clenching and unclenching his hand. "Oh, want me to fix that?"

He nodded, and I began unblocking the tenketsu. "You don't have anybody you like, even? That's someone that all the girl's have."

I smiled. "I have someone I admire, I suppose."

"Who?"

"Naruto-san."

He chortled at this. "Naruto? That dumbass?"

That was when I got angry. I furrowed my eyebrows, and stopped fixing his arms. "You have no right to say anything, Sasuke-san."

"Oh? I don't?"

"No," I told him, my voice beginning to raise in volume. "You may have natural skills due to your heritage, as I do, but him? He's the one with real determination. He trains his hardest, he works his hardest, even though the teachers teach him the wrong things, he still shows how much he wants this! He has pride in himself, in his hard work, which is something you'll never have!"

I stood up, brushed off my pants, and stalked off then.

Later, when I was thinking about it, was when I realized that maybe, just maybe, I did like him. And then my face flooded red, because oh my Kami, I did.

Of course, the next day, it was revealed to me that Naruto had heard me stand up for him. He approached me after class, when we were waiting for our parents to come pick us up (we were still too young to walk home ourselves, in the Academy's eyes). Due to my recent realization, my cheeks dusted pink at him being so close.

"Hey, I wanted to say thanks," he told me.

I blinked. "Uhm, what for, Naruto-san?"

"For reassuring me that I'm not the only one that believes in myself." And he grinned at me, that slow, foxy smile and then I could tell that I was in over my head. Completely in over my head.

But I just smiled at him. "Everybody should have a positive voice from somewhere, Naruto-san."

We ended up talking for a while, actually. We were in the back of the class, and nobody realized we were even talking. For some reason, my father was taking extra long that day, and we ended up being some of the last students there.

"Hey, Hinata?" he said, looking up at me.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" (At this point, he had requested I call him that.)

"What…What are your parents like?" he asked, a sad, far-off look in his eyes.

I could only do what he requested. "Well, there's my Kaa-chan. She's really pretty. She hugs me all the time, and sometimes she lets me dress up like a geisha and we go around the compound and giggle with each other." I smiled at the memory. "She used to pick me up and throw me and catch me."

"Used to?"

"Oh, she's having another baby. My little sister," I added with a giggle.

"How do you know it's gonna be a girl?"

"'Cuz I wished for a girl," I told him. "And Kaa-chan told me she did too, even though Tou-chan wants a boy."

He laughed. "Why does your Otou want a boy?"

I crossed my arms, huffing. "For an heir. Right now, I'm the heiress. But if it's a boy, he takes it. If it's a girl, I get to give it to her."

He blinked. "Why would ya wanna give it away?"

I smiled. "Because if she wants it, then she deserves it."

"Why don't you want it?"

"Well—"

Right then, my father entered the room. The look on his face was cold and harsh, and it would take me years before I ever understood why he changed so drastically. He saw me sitting there, talking with Naruto, walked over and practically ripped me out of my chair. I kicked and screamed, telling him to let go of me, that he was hurting me, Tou-chan.

And he looked at me with the coldest, most unfeeling gaze I've ever seen, and told me, "It's Otou-sama, Hinata."

Later, I found out that my mother had died giving birth to Hanabi, the little girl we had wished for. I cried when I held her for the first time, and she looked at me with those innocent little gray eyes, and grabbed onto my hair.

From then on I decided that I would act as motherly to Hanabi as I could, because she could never know our mother. I was her big sister, and this was what big sisters should do.

From then on, my father also decided that I was not to ever associate myself with Naruto if I could help it. He called him "the Kyuubi boy" and "disgusting demon" and a bunch of other things I don't want to remember. I remember thinking he was just like the teachers, and it disgusted me.

Because I finally found the person I loved, and I couldn't even talk to them anymore.