Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Hinata, but if I did, I'd make this fic cannon.

Premonition

by: IbashedVoldie'shead

He watched the last rays of the sun disappear behind the horizon, his elbows leaning on the cool stone of the Hokage monument. The breeze caressed his face, bringin a small smile to his lips as he closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, feeling the emptiness and pleasure steel over him. In this moment, he was in heaven, and absolutely nothing could interrupt that.

"Hey, it's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?"

Naruto's head shot up, startled. He'd been enjoying the sunset in one of his favorite places, drawing in energies for tomorrow, his first ninja academy end of term test. He wouldn't be able to be with children his age, but he really wanted to pass nonetheless. After all, it would bring him one step closer to becoming Hokage. But his meditation was interrupted by this strange voice.

As Naruto's eyes moved up, he found himself staring at what he could only call the Yondaime Hokage. He gaped, staring at a face that looked so familiar and yet, there was something different about it. Looking closer, he realized that although the man who was now sitting next to him in nigh the same position looked a lot like the blonde Hokage, there were some fundamental differences. His face was rounder and he had a bigger nose, and his hair was longer, although done in a similar fashion to that of the Fourth. There were also some strange, barely discernible markings on his cheeks, which reminded Naruto o his own whisker-marks. They were much fainter though.

"Earth to Naruto," said the Yondaime-look-alike waving a hand in front of the young boy. "I asked you a question, didn't I?" he chuckled.

Naruto gaped for a moment, still overcome by his sheer similarity to his idol and the power he seemed to be radiating, before meekly offering an answer:

"Um... yeah, I quite like watching it." he said, berating himself for some reason. He barely knew the man, and already he wanted to impress and trust him. It was something strange that he seemed to radiate which made him immediately likeable, but also respect-demanding. "Tomorrow's my first genin-exam." he said, feeling slightly bolder. Then his brows furrowed. "How did you know my name?"

"I know more about you than you do." said the man and laughed, a pure, beautiful sound. "So you're nine now, right? A good age to start thinking about what you want to be when you grow up."

"I do know!" protested Naruto. "I want to become the Hokage and gain respect from all the villagers!" he echoed his famous phrase which had become a punchline in any situation since he was five.

"Good dream," smiled the man. "but the reasons aren't very clear. Do you know what being a Hokage means?"

"Well... I know that you have to be responsible for the whole village." said Naruto uncertainly. He was suddenly being lectured about his dream by a complete stranger, but curiously, he didn't mind at all. Heck, this might end up being a dream anyway, seeing as no one that knew who he was ever talked to him quite as pleasantly. He was ready to take a chance.

"Yes, but to truly be a good Hokage, and I say this from past experience, you must feel the need to protect every single person in the village. Every man who has ever spat at you and every woman that has scorned you should feel like your most precious person, as none of them should ever die. Every decision you'd make could send people to their deaths or bring them a better life. A Hokage is the father of every person in his village. He will feel responsible for every life lost and spend his time on paperwork for years on end if that would make the village a better place. Would you be able to do that?"

Naruto was surprised to hear the man speak with such conviction. He'd never heard a more passionate voice, and the points that the man had made... they made a lot of sense. Forgetting for a moment about how or why a stranger knew so much about his dream, he thought about the points he'd made and reconsidered his reasons.

I care about Konoha. As much as the people here seem to hate me, I never felt anger towards them. Perhaps some annoyance... yeah, but that's only normal. I guess that if I were to be the one responsible for their lives, I wouldn't hesitate to protect each and every one with my life, just like Jii-chan told me he would. I would make them all my precious people, because that's what being a Hokage is. And in turn, they would respect me, not because I am powerful, but because they would know that I care about each and every one.

Having reached this conclusion, the blonde lifted his head and grinned his famous foxy grin.

"Yeah, I think I would."

The man looked pleased with his answer.

"Then I guess I don't have to help you any more." he said, slightly sadly. "But I can see a person who seems to need some friendship and warmth right now, especially from you. Helping a powerful future kunoichi would be a great step towards becoming a caring and influential Hokage."

"Um... yeah? Who is it?" asked Naruto, slightly confused at the new topic.

The man merely pointed at one of the lower points of the Hokage monument, where on a small bench, a dark-haired girl of Naruto's age sat crying. Naruto immediately recognized her and stood up, ready to rush to her aid, completely forgetting the man behind him. But just as he took the first steps, he remembered something and turned around.

"What's your name?" he asked, staring into the cyan eyes of the other man, a determined look in his eyes.

The man gave a full-fledged laugh that rang out in the warm air like a song.

"Me? Why I'm Uzumaki Naruto, legacy of the yellow flash!" he stated proudly. As Naruto watched, his grin turned into a swirl of leaves and he was carried away by the wind, billowing over Konoha like an unbreakable defence. Or perhaps it was just Naruto's imagination as he stared after him, dumbstruck.

It was only when the soft sound of sobbing reached his ears that he shook his head and turned around, sprinting down the rocky path over to the tiny bench.

---

"Hinata-chan!"

Hinata raised her head, wiping her tears hastily. Whoever it was, she didn't want to appear even weaker in front of him. Not since what her father had told her.

She was surprised, if not terrified and embarrassed, to see Naruto sprinting down the hill, flashing her a smile. She rubbed at her face as hard as she could, trying to erase the remnants of her tears even though she knew he'd probably already heard her sob anyway.

Now even Naruto-kun is going to think I'm weak, she berated herself. Why can't I be stronger like Neji-san? I'm not even worth being called a ninja!

She barely even noticed how Naruto closed the distance to the bench and sat down next to her, panting. He looked over uncertainly.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. He barely knew the girl, really, but he remembered her from the few times she'd come to the academy for some sort of special training. Once, he'd even helped her up after some idiot half-brain Hyuuga nearly broke her ribs. She'd become quite quiet and conservative around him since then. But even so, she was the only person his age who didn't take every opportunity to insult him and glare at him and he appreciated that.

"N-nothing Naruto-kun." she stuttered in a voice that was barely audible.

"You're a horrible liar, you know that?" he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She immediately went red and looked away.

"My father s-says that I am not w-worth the Hyuuga name. He says I am too w-weak to even be called ninja." she whispered, her eyes wetting again. She quickly blinked back new tears.

"Nonsense! You know you're going to be the most powerful kunoichi in Konoha when you grow up!" he said with such conviction that Hinata forgot about the fact that he was merely nine. She looked up at his cyan eyes, her own widening in surprise before she did something she'd continue to congratulate herself for for the rest of her life: she hugged him.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." she murmured to the shocked boy. "But I don't think I'll ever be powerful enough to earn my father's respect."

"Oh, but I know so. A very reliable person told me." he stated before grinning down at the village and the people he was born to protect.

---

A/N

Whoa, where did this come from? Well, it's here and I hope you appreciate it. Yeah, just another way to vent my NaruHina steam. ^^ I wrote this in around two hours so I don't expect much recognition, but R&R anyway. XD

Cheerios and have a nice day!

IbVh