The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit

chapter one; man of legend

"Fuck my life..." A near silent mutter chimed, breaking the white noise of crickets chirping. A young woman; a kunoichi, faltered down the lone streets of Konoha.

Hinata wasn't sure what she would even doing out so late; she should have been home, sleeping in her bed by now, not stumbling back drunk from the bar at 3 am. Her senses were dulled, though she was unaware of how impaired she truly was. Her jumbled thoughts swirled around the idea of Naruto; her Naruto, who after all these years, she would no longer be able to call hers.

No, Naruto was never really hers.

As much as the Hyuga wanted to, even in her saddened state, she could not hate Naruto nor Sakura for the heavy feeling in her chest. She blamed herself, and solely herself, because it wasn't in her nature to hold a vendetta against anyone but herself. If I'd treated him right, he wouldn't have left me. If I'd been strong enough, he wouldn't have chosen her instead; if only I were different, if I were different, he would still want me.

Hinata collapsed then, bursting into a hysterical bout of tears. She was thankful that no one was out in the streets to see her like this, although she figured that even if there were, she wouldn't care. Her head was spinning from the excess sake she devoured prior to this scene, and her long dark bangs had overgrown the past few weeks, so they clung in stringy pieces to the water on her face.

Hammered, Hinata blundered to her feet and used to wall for support as she could hardly stand for a moment. She was on her way back to her apartment, but found herself idly wandering in a different direction. She found herself heading straight towards Naruto's "Hokage Estate", which was once her home up until about a month ago. She plopped on the ground a fair distance away.

All of the lights were off, except one; the bedroom light. Hinata wondered what her ex boyfriend was doing up so late, and she mused for a moment that perhaps he was just as upset about the breakup as she.

She was quick to erase this thought, reminding herself that Naruto cheated on her, not the other way around.

Something flickered nearby; Hinata's eyes automatically darted to the wall, which she now noticed had a figure stalking on top of it. She saw a flash of red, and in response activated her Byakugan, noting the immense chakra this individual was emanating. Had Hinata been sober, she may have feared this person could be a threat, but for some reason she was at ease, telling herself that he was simply a Konoha ninja going on a late night stroll.

And she was right, sort of.

As the shinobi drew near, Hinata began to recognize his presence, then felt silly for not realizing who it was sooner. No one else has eyes that flash blood-red even in the midst of night.

It was strange though, she thought; he was almost like a legend; a silent god who only the chosen ones could see. He was a myth, almost never showing his face; to see him is like to see a shooting star fall right out of a pure black sky. Yet there he was, writhing like the snake he'd once been, slithering through the cracks of Konoha's dead night for only her eyes to see.

Sasuke Uchiha was infamous, just like Hinata Hyuga herself, but they were not similar; no, he was a mortar, and she was a stone.

Hinata knew how the story went; Sometimes, if one could be so lucky, they would see the last Uchiha lurk the outskirts of the city, leaving nothing but a silent trail of cigarette smoke behind him. The ex Hyuga heiress could often be seen mid-day picking her favourite flowers at the park.

And as Sasuke Uchiha passed by her, locking eyes for only a split second, Hinata hoped that he would stop and say something to her; that they could engage in a small conversation after not seeing each other for over three years. Hinata wished to speak to the legend himself, to prove that he was even still alive. The moon gleamed off his eyes, and Hinata observed sheepishly, in awe, having forgotten how mystical it felt to peer into the eyes of a Sharingan wielder.

But just as quickly as he'd appeared, he was gone.

Hinata sat in the dirt, dumbfounded, and wondered if she was really drunk enough to hallucinate.

Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for checking out this story! I know there isn't much in this chapter, but more of the actual plot line is going to be revealed in the next chapter, if you're interested ;) the title of this story is actually the title of a La Dispute song, because I am uncreative and couldn't think of one myself. xD

Anyway if you've been intrigued by this at all, please leave a review and let me know what you think!