Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Four Girls and Four Boys Helping Them to Forget ❯ Unwanted Pasts ( Chapter 3 )

Ino started, “Our parents worked together as partners in a firm and we met through them. At work they put on a great show. They were firm, yet gentle with their employees and they knew how to bargain with finesse. Everybody looked up to them and aspired to be like them. But it was different in our homes where only the walls knew what they were really like.”

The guys looked at each other and then at Ino wanting to know where she was going with this.

“We were really young when it started happening,” Ten-Ten said taking over for Ino. “Only around the ages of six and seven. But we knew what was going on was wrong and demoralizing. We became very ashamed of ourselves as if we were the ones committing the sins.”

Neiji looked at her confused. “What are you talking about? This isn't making much sense.”
Now, Hinata began to speak. “Neiji, everyone, we were the victims of abuse. Mental abuse, physical abuse, and even sexual abuse.” Hinata shook slightly. “We found safety in each other and that's how we all came to know one another.”

“We were each abused differently,” Ino said speaking up again. “For me, it was all mental abuse. I was constantly told that I was nothing and that I was an accident created from a `good night'. I was nothing more than a burden, an extra mouth to feed and a waste of good money. They told me I was ugly and should never show my face to anyone. It was hard for me to look at myself and I would cry myself to sleep every night. At first, I hid from the girls. All I thought about was the words of my parents echoing in the back of my head, but slowly I came to realize that they were friends.” She smiled at her friends. “And I learned to like myself with their support.”

“Hinata and I were physically abused,” Ten-Ten began. She felt Hinata's hand slide into hers and she squeezed it reassuringly. Ten-Ten continued. “They would come home from work and I would find myself running and hiding. I remember being so scared. They would beat me with the closest thing in arms reach, which could either mean a belt to a hot frying pan to a hammer.” Ten-Ten looked away from everyone.

“They wouldn't even say anything,” Hinata said. “My father would sometimes pick me up and throw my against the wall and my mother…she would just watch. Once, she even filmed a beating and I could hear them playing it over and over in their room as if they found pleasure in it. I would find myself watching the clock and counting the minutes to when they would be walking through the front door. It was a comfort to know that I wasn't alone. Hinata was the first girl I met and we pulled through together.” She once again squeezed Hinata's hand causing the girl to smile at her.

The guys were speechless as they stood before the girls. What could they say? What was there to say? The silence grew thick and unbearable.
“But we pulled through,” Hinata said. “With the support of each other we were able to bear through it. It was hard, but not insurmountable. We are all doing well now. We are able to live our lives now. We are no longer scared.”

“But…” Ten-Ten started. “Sakura is still suffering. She was the last to join our group, but easily became our bodyguard and protector. She never had any friends and she would protect us even if it meant something would happen to her. I remember when all of us were at Hinata's house and…well…” She hesitated, “I can't say it. If you want to know, then you will have to ask her yourself.” She sighed heavily with sorrow floating around it.

“As you must have already figured out,” Ino began, “Sakura received all forms of abuse. She may seem cold at times, but that's just the remainder of a barrier she put up many years ago.”

After hearing this, Sasuke's stomach dropped.

“Why didn't you ever tell me, Hinata?” Neiji demanded.

“I couldn't. I was cut off from the world. All of us were. The only social contacts we had were with each other and our parents. I had no way to talk to you or anyone.”

“What about your parents?!” Naruto exclaimed. “What happened to them?! How were you girls able to leave?!”

Ten-Ten spoke up. “Since we turned eighteen and nineteen, we were able to hire our own lawyers. Once we threatened our parents with this, they said that they would let us move away and pay for all the expenses. We would just have to keep what happened to us a secret. They couldn't risk their reputations.”

“It was hard to agree to that at first,” Ino said. “We lost over ten years of our lives and they were basically telling us to forget it just so that their reputations weren't damaged. But we agreed. We decided getting away from them was best. So for the next month, we stayed at a hotel until a place could be found for us to live. We got to pick it of course. It was great luck that it was so close to Neiji.”

“I don't know how you all have the strength to smile,” Shikamaru said. “After all you've been through.”

“We have each other,” Ino said. “And now we have all of you.”

The girls nodded and smiled.

“What about Sakura?” Neiji asked. “If she became the `leader' of you all, why is it that she is having so much trouble moving on?”

They looked at each other, then back at the boys. “It's not that it's harder for her to move on,” Hinata started. “It's just that she found a way to slip in and out of reality. So when her past comes up, she runs from it instead of facing it.”

“What do you mean?” asked a confused Naruto.

“How do I explain,” Ten-Ten said. She thought for a couple moments. “Sometimes…sometimes there is nothing in her eyes. She just has this blank stare, but yet she still seems to know what is going on around her. All of her feelings are gone though. She disconnects with them somehow.” Ten-Ten growled slightly. “And it is all their fault. They made her this way.”

Hinata frowned. “Sometimes…I think we have ourselves to blame for her acting like that. She would always hold us and hug us when we were crying or hurt, but she never cried and so we never hugged her. Even as we grew older, we could only see the emotions. I think we were all waiting for her to cry so that we could hold her. Like her tears was a signal for us, to let us know it was okay for us to hug her. We were just so consumed by the attention and support that she would give us that we didn't even think about returning it because she always put on a mask to hide her pain. But we all knew that she was hurting on the inside and yet we continued to wait for the signal.”

“Where is she now?” Sasuke asked suddenly.

The girls looked at each other. “We…we don't know exactly,” Ten-Ten said.

“What do you mean,” he asked with a bit of anger clinging to the words.

“All we know is that she went to a club,” Ino said. “She goes to them to relieve stress and anxiety, but she's different when she goes out. She doesn't care about whom she is dancing with or who is touching her. She just continues to dance regardless. It's not safe for her to be doing that though. Some creep might take advantage of her and-”

“I'm going to go,” Sasuke said not wanting to hear anymore.

“Sasuke,” Hinata said softly, “Will you…um…could you find her for us? I know you two don't get along, but we are all really worried. She did this when we were at the hotel, but we found out where she was going and requested for a guard to keep an eye on her. You know this town better then we do so-”

“Sure. There's a popular nightclub close by here. Don't worry.”

Hinata smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

Sasuke nodded as well and then left.

Ten-Ten sighed now that a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “Hey. Just do us this one favor. Don't let what we told you change how you look at us. We don't want pity. We just want to be normal.”

They nodded.

“Now then,” Ino started. “We should really get this party started. I know it may seem weird, but we want to have this party. We like to have fun!” She smiled and turned on some music. “So let's have some!”

Everyone smiled.

 

 

 

I know this chapter was really short, but I didn't want to drag it out. A new chapter will be coming soon! ^^