DISCLAIMER:
Naruto is copyrighted to the creator, Masashi Kimimoto. This story is purely fan-made and is in no way associated with the anime company or the artist who created it.
.x.THEN.x.
I can't say I had a normal childhood. My childhood was anything but. Being an heir to the Hyuuga clan is not as easy as it sounds, especially for someone as shy as me. The pressure was incredible. At the age of five, my stutter was in full force. I could hardly find my voice to speak when spoken to, and my favorite time of the day was when my parents finally allowed me to retreat to my room in solitude. But then, when I turned six, my worst nightmare became a reality. I had to face school.
School itself actually didn't seem too frightening. It was the prospect of having to "make friends" that terrified me. I had never been very outgoing, and trying to introduce myself to strange new kids was not my idea of a fun day. But, through a lot of fighting, my parents finally forced me to go to school.
On the first day, the teachers were all really kind, and used quiet, comforting voices. The kids, on the other hand, were an entirely different story. All the students were supposed to be sitting criss-cross applesauce in the circle, but many students' curiosity had gotten the better of them, and they had taken off across the room, examining the various trinkets placed high upon the shelves and out of their reach. Only a few students remained in the circle, and the teachers had already abandoned the thought of getting them all back. Still sitting in the circle were three other students. A chunky brown-haired boy sat across the circle from me, sucking his thumb, eyes closed in content. Two spaces to his left was a small boy with raven hair, who sat with his arms crossed and glared across the room with a bored expression on his tiny six-year-old face. And then, a few feet to my right, there was a boy with long, shaggy brown hair that almost covered his eyes. Sleeping soundly in his lap was a small, white puppy. The boy stroked it affectionately, looking down at it with what could only be love in his eyes. I watched this go on for a few minutes, when suddenly, he looked up at me, and we locked eyes. I quickly looked away, blushing. I stared intently at the pink-haired girl across the room, looking at herself in the mirror next to a small blonde haired girl. But I really wasn't paying attention. I was wondering when the boy with the dog would stop looking at me. I could feel his gaze on my back, and I wondered if anyone else could feel the intensity. Cautiously, I stole a glance over my shoulder, just to lock eyes with him again. This time, though, I didn't turn away. Instead, I just continued to stare, frozen with fear. I was horrible at talking to people. What was I supposed to say?
"You can pet him if you want." He said softly, gesturing to the dog in his lap. I turned to face him, a hint of terror in my eyes, but also a glint of curiosity.
"R-really?" I whispered, feeling a rising excitement within me. I had always loved animals, but I had always been too frightened to approach one.
He nodded his head once, and slowly I reached my hand out towards the sleeping animal. I carefully placed my hand on his head, and tenderly ran my hand down his spine. His fur was smooth, and I could tell this dog was well cared for. I continued to pet him, and the boy sat quietly, watching the affectionate movements of my hand across the animal's fur. We sat there in silence for a while, both of us listening to the sound of the dog's peaceful breathing. After a while, the dog woke up, lifting his head sleepily and giving a small, drowsy "ruff".
I snapped my hand back, pulling it tight to my chest.
"Oh, I'm s-so s-sorry, I th-think I w-woke him up." I said apologetically, feeling horrible that I had woken the animal from its slumber.
"No, it's all right." The boy replied, a warm smile lighting up his face. "You didn't wake him up; he was probably just done sleeping." His voice was very reassuring, and I nodded slowly, my lips curving into a small smile.
"Okay…" I whispered, looking back to the dog, who had crawled out of his owner's lap and was now stretching on the floor in front of me.
"So, what's your name?" He asked me, giving me a curious stare and tilting his head to the side. He reminded me of a puppy, with the way he looked at me.
"H-hinata." I replied shakily, my stutter revealing itself very plainly.
"My name's Kiba." He stated proudly. Then, nodding his head towards the puppy, he added, "And that's Akamaru."
I smiled at him, and ever since that day, Kiba and I have been best friends.
In later years, his outgoing personality and my reserved one seemed to blossom, becoming more pronounced. We remained friends all through the academy, and then, to our surprise, were even placed in the same genin squad.
We got one year of being full-fledged ninjas, and then, the unthinkable happened.
A team of ninjas only a year older than ourselves were all killed in an ambush on a D-ranked mission.
The parent of one of these children was a very rich and powerful man, and he complained to the Hokage, and soon had a whole petition started. And from then on, all under-age ninja training was done in a classroom.
There were complaints, and protests, mostly by the genins and chunins, but the law stuck, and eventually everyone settled down. And life moved forward, a little different than before, but moving forward all the same.
.x.NOW.x.
The bell rang, marking the beginning of my first day in what they called my "sophomore year" in high school. My previous school year, as a freshman, was not too great, being the lowest level on the food chain. But this year, I was a tenth grader, and things were about to change.
I was sitting at my desk in Kurenai-sensei's room, next to Naruto, and a boy I had never seen before. Kurenai teaches Nin Jutsu, one of the simpler subjects. She was my teacher last year, and she and I got along really well. To start the first day of school, she called the class' attention to the front chalkboard.
"My name is Kurenai Yuuhi. There are only three things I want from you this year. One, you will call me Kurenai-sensei. Two, you will leave the fighting for whenever you have Baki-sensei's class. Three, Listen when I talk. That's pretty much it. Let's get started."
We started the year just like we did last year; with a simple review of hand seals. Of course, we all knew them by heart, but nonetheless, we spent the entire period practicing the hand seal patterns for nearly every jutsu in the book. It may seem boring, but since they come so easily to us, we got to spend the whole period talking to our friends.
Naruto supplied most of the conversation. I was never prone to talking much anyways. A few minutes into class, Neji joined the conversation too. Neji and Naruto have completely opposite personalities, but somehow, they got along great.
That class flew by in a flash, and before I knew it, I found myself sitting at my usual lunch table, accompanied by Kiba, Naruto, Neji, Tenten, Shino, and Lee. Shino, Naruto, and Lee were having an animated conversation about who would win in today's sparring match, and Neji and Tenten were, as usual, absorbed in their standard lunch-time discussion. Which left Kiba and myself. Kiba was all too used to my customary silence, so he did most of the talking.
"Yeah, did you hear about those kids who moved here from Suna? I heard they were banished!" He exclaimed excitedly.
"Kiba, y-you don't know th-that yet." I replied, as forcefully as I could muster. It was hard, though, with my stutter still contaminating my speech.
"Oh, Hinata, you give people too much credit!" He scoffed, chuckling lightly. "I wonder what they did…"
I looked away, knowing that arguing was pointless. I looked around the lunch room, scanning for the new kids. I picked them out of the crowd instantly.
There were three of them, and they were sitting at a table alone. One had deep red hair, and wore excessively thick eyeliner. The other was the boy from my first period class. They also had a sister, who had short blonde hair, curled slightly and up in a short pony-tail. I watched them eat for a moment, when the red-head suddenly looked up at me.
He stared back at me with intense aqua eyes, and I felt trapped by his gaze; unable to look away. I felt naked; like he could see straight into my soul. I begged him in my head to look away; to let me go. And then, as if he could hear me, he suddenly dropped his gaze to his untouched plate, releasing me from his grasp.
Eyes wide with shock, I turned back to the table, where Kiba was staring at me, concern clouding his expression.
"Hinata, you alright?" He asked, obviously worried.
"Y-yeah K-kiba, I'm f-fine." I replied shakily, lowering my eyes to my food. I suddenly didn't feel like eating; my stomach was already full of butterflies.
Risky though it was, I stole a glance back at the table where the Suna siblings sat. The red head was gone. I sighed with relief, and turned back to my friends.
With a loud ring, the bell sounded, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of sixth period. I stood, grabbed my things, and exited the building with Kiba by my side.
Sixth period was taught by Asuma Sarutobi, who specialized in Chakra Control. This was one of my favorite classes, not just because of the subject, but also because Kiba was in it with me.
Absorbed in my conversation with Kiba, I did not notice the person standing just inside the door, and as I walked in the room, I walked right into them.
"Oh! I'm s-so s-sorry!" I breathed. But as I looked up to see who I had bumped into, I almost choked.
It was the red head.
He said nothing, but nodded down at me, giving me a small smile. Then, he turned back to his conversation, leaving me standing breathless in the doorway.
"Hinata? C'mon Hinata, we've gotta get to our seats." He reminded me, giving me a small tug in the direction of our desks. I followed him, still in my trance-like state.
The rest of the day passed by normally, and like always, I rode the bus, did homework, talked to Tenten on the phone, and then crawled into bed. But I could not sleep. And the only thing on my mind were those gripping aqua eyes…
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