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Sasuke's POV

Naruto is staring at the raven-haired, pale-skinned girl; who's sitting away from the others. Her face is indifferent, and she's writing something down onto a piece of paper. The dobe smiles to himself. ' I sure hope Hinata- chan is on my team. She sure is a cutie ~! And super smart, too !' Naruto snickers to himself. Sasuke sighs. He shouldn't have even bothered using his Sharingan. As for the one sitting next to him, the Hyuuga, is thinking along the lines of: 'Oh, Naruto - kun. Pretty please be on my team. I love you so .'

Insufferable.

These are his two classmates. This is what he has for a team? A deadlast and a lovesick idiot? Talk about class.

He'd sooner die of suicide. (1)

He notices out of the corner of his eye, Sakura knocking Naruto over as she stands in front of Hinata. Ino does, too. In fact, the two are blushing in front of the already shy girl.

"M - Mind if I sit next to you?" Sakura asks, blushing red all over like a tomato. 'Mmm,' Sasuke thinks, 'I like my tomatoes.'

"Move out of the way, forehead! I saw her first!" Ino shoves past her childhood friend.

"Did not, Ino-pig!" squeals Sakura.

"Did too!"

"U - um, is something wrong, g - girls?" Hinata asks, staring at the two with her white eyes. They shake their head. "Nope! Nothing's wrong! At all!"

"I - if you say so," Hinata says, looking down at her lap and blushing, too.

'Wow, she is kinda weird.' Naruto thinks, as he crouches down in front of her. She notices.

"D - Did you want something, N - Naruto-kun?" All of her fangirls glare at the boy in question. He was about to say something, when someone bumped into him out of nowhere. He kissed Hinata on the lips unexpectedly.

Sasuke looks away. 'What a waste of time,' he thinks.

Inner Sakura: How dare he! I wanted to be Hinata's first kiss!

"NARUTO!" she cracks her knuckles, "you're finished!"

"Heh heh. Oops! My mistake!" As the moment, too good to be true, ends. The fangirls destroy tear him into pieces.

"So, this is the Hyuuga heiress," Sarutobi says, watching through his crystal ball as the others eye her intently. "Is she the cousin of Neji?" Kurenai asks, curious. The hokage nods. "That's right. He died with the rest of his clan. All except for her. She's the last Hyuuga. But, she's too shy for her own good. She needs around someone social to balance her out." He looks up at Gai. "Same with these two. They need someone dynamic, so that they can work as a team together."

"Naruto Uzumaki," Gai looks down at the file and up at the spherical ball of glass. It seems they've written his character down to a tee. Predictable, full of youth, and a bit of a class clown. He could work with that.

"STOP GLARING AT HINATA!" Sakura shouts, and Naruto crosses his arms. Sasuke could care less about them. He had his own demons to deal with.

'What's the big deal with this girl?Why are they so obsessed with her?' Naruto thinks, 'Hinata. Hinata. Hinata. Just 'cuz she's the last of her clan doesn't make her any special or anything.

What am I saying? She's drop dead gorgeous! And a hottie at that!' he thinks, stars in his eyes. He starts a staring contest with her. Her white eyes are still as blank as ever. 'Man, she's just tryin' to look cool! Can't she say a 'hi' or somethin'?'

"Baka, sit next to me." Sasuke says, indicating to the seat next to him with a nod. 'I guess that's Sasuke. I heard he's a teme. Everyone thinks he's really handsome, but he's also a tsundere. Whatever THAT means. But, he also ties with Hinata-chan. They're both smart! Except for me.' he groans to himself. 'He'd better be on my team! He's a bastard, but that's OK! I'll live!' He sits next to Sasuke and Hinata and blushes.

"Idiot," Sasuke says when he sees Naruto's red face. He snorts when Naruto silently screams 'shut up!'

He's struck a nerve and he knows it.

Smirking, he watches as all the other students walk into the classroom. He's on time, as always.

The schoolbell rings.

"Alright, class," Iruka says to all of them. "As of today, you are all ninjas. You are now first level genin seperated into three man squads. Which is led by a jounin, an elite ninja."

Inner Sakura: I hope I'm sorted into Hinata's.

"I wonder who'll be in the Hinata-chan's group," Ino says, "Hopefully, it's me." She flips her hair, and the Cherry Blossom growls.

Sakura grits her teeth.

Inner Sakura: I'm gonna be with Hinata! So stay away from her, blondie!

Iruka scolds them, telling the class to settle down. And they do, if not to learn which team they will be on and whatnot.

"Today, you'll be sorted into teams. For the rest of your shinobi life, you'll be with them. Always." Sasuke groans. How is he supposed to eliminate his brother once and for all with people he doesn't care about? He'd rather be alone than lonely. He doesn't pay attention until he recognizes his name being called.

"Team Gai is," Iruka announces, looking up from his pile of papers. Naruto hangs at the edge of his seat in anticipation.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"And….Hinata Hyuuga."

"Your sensei is Gai. Mighty Gai."

"N - NANI?!" Naruto exclaims, as the other two shout, "WHAT?!"

Apparently, his teammates, too.

He tunes out of the other name calling of other teams. He doesn't care. What he does care about is his sensei. He narrows his eyes. He'd rather him be that one Hatake teacher, because he, too, is also a Sharingan-user. Sadly, that wasn't the case this time.

The fact that he had this sorry excuse of a teacher made him feel sick to his stomach.

' What a laughing stock ,' he thinks with a smirk, as he forms a line with his two teammates to follow their sensei to lunch, ' wearing green-spandex tights. That uniform screams 'what a get-up.' Has he no shame?'

They're out the door and are outside.

Naruto POV (3rd)

"Hey, Ino-chan!" He calls to the flower girl. She pauses, and looks at him. "What do you want, Naruto." It's not a question, just a statement.

He laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Y'know, I was wondering...if we could...if we could eat lunch together, maybe?" She shakes her head, glancing at the lavenders she has in hand. "Sorry, pipsqueak. You're real cute an' all, but...I've got a date with Hinata-chan! So long, sucker!" She shouts, walking away laughing to herself. Saddened, Naruto look down at his feet, and throws the cherry blossoms he's picked just for her.

A little later...

He's sitting at the top of the roof, feeling down in the dumps. 'Man, what a pain! My team is full of weirdos! There's a freaky girl that doesn't say anything and turns red whenever I look at her! And the other one is so annoying! He thinks he can beat me any day and he doesn't care at all! And Ino, well,' he looks down, sad. 'she just broke my heart in two.'

He looks up once he sees a shadow down below. Curious, he looks down, and spots Hinata eating a bento box full of rice. 'Got it!' He thinks, triumphantly.

Sakura POV (3rd)

The screen fades to black and we see Sakura, Chouji, and Shikamaru all huddled up together at the balcony of the Academy. She picks her nails, and looks up at the pathetic excuse of a team. 'Shannaro!' she thinks, 'these twats won't stop me from winning Hinata-chan's heart!' Clearing her throat, she spoke up, "We're going to work as a team! I'll be the leader, since I'm best of the best," she puff out her chest out proudly, hoping if she acts strong, Hinata-chan will surely like her if she hadn't already.

'How troublesome. Hmph! She'll just throw a fit if something doesn't go her way.' He glares up at her, 'what a drag.'

"Gimme BBQ and maybe you will!" Chouji says, and Sasuke rounds up on him, too. "So pitiful!" she says, face-palming. What piques her interest is when she sees Naruto inching closer and closer to Hinata-chan. 'DAMN YOU, NARUTO! WHATEVER YOU'RE THINKING, STOP IT!' her inner self rages, and she tries to suppress these feelings from overwhelming her. The other two look up as well, as Naruto jumps through a hatch and tackling Hinata-chan to the ground. The hatch closes.

'Don't you dare scratch her!' Sakura thinks, narrowing her eyes into demonic slits, 'if you so much as lay a finger on her, I'll kill you!'

"W - what happened?" she says, as the whole room down there below shakes.

After a few moments, Hinata-chan resurfaces, and hops out.

"Wow, she didn't even break a sweat," Shikamaru notes, thoroughly impressed by the Hyuuga more and more. Sakura smiled to herself. "Well, of course she did. That's my Hinata-chan~!" she says in a sing song voice, all cheery. Chouji agrees and eats a bag of potato chips...and EATS IT (dn reference). "Naruto against Hinata? Please. No contest."

Ino POV (3rd)

'I really wish I was in Hinata-chan's team,' she sighs to herself, picking at her food her mother made with her chopsticks. 'I went through all the trouble of picking these lavenders just for her. And, now, she's so far out of my reach...' She crosses her arms, feeling sad all of a sudden. 'Oh, she'll never like me. All I have are flowers. And flowers won't help me one bit. Why was I born a Yamanaka, anyway?' She looks up once she sees Hinata-chan in the flesh standing right in front of her. She blushes. Hinata-chan smiles shyly. 'A - ah! It's really her! THE Hyuuga heiress! She's looking...' a screenshot of Hinata's eyes...'right at me!'

'That look in her eyes!'

"Ino's Wildest Fantasies Come to Life!" Start!

"You're so beautiful, Ino-chan," Hinata says, holding Ino in her arms, "your flowers, your lavenders, mean the world to me, my love. Dearest, will you...kiss me?"

Ino blushes. And snaps out of her daydream.

End

'Oh, Ino,' she scolds herself, 'that's just a fairytale. And she'll never be my princess at this rate. Who am I kidding, who would want me?' She looks up at the sky, as leaves rustle in the wind. The summer breeze is nice and so is the sun. 'Hope I get a tan to impress Hinata-chan!' she thinks, trying to cheer herself up, and laughs out loud.

Oops.

"Ino," a voice says suddenly, startling her. She looks up again, and gasps as she sees 'Hinata-chan' (*cough* *cough* Naruto *cough* *cough) right before her eyes. "you're so beautiful. Like the sun in the sky. I love your flowers...everything about you. Will you...kiss me?" He says, but she doesn't know it's a he. She nods, blushing.

'I did it! Now, she's all mine for taking! Take that, Sakura!' she screams internally, but staying shy on the outside. "S - sorry, I - Ino-chan. N - Naruto-kun always says s - such things l - like that."

Ino slumps against the seat. Hinata-chan sits next to her. "U - um, quick question?"

"Naruto-kun. What do you think of him?" Naruto asks in Hinata's body. Ino fumbles with her fingers, playing with the bouquet she planned to give to Hinata-chan that day. "W - well," she starts, embarrassed, "h - he thinks he knows how I feel about someone," 'you,' she adds to herself, "and he acts like he knows everything, and I can tell he likes me. A lot. But, I dunno how to feel."

"I - I see," Naruto says in a small voice. "He's so annoying!" she says eventually, a shadow covering half her face. Naruto perks up. "I just...I just want you, Hinata-chan. That's all." Ino says, still blushing and looking down at her lap; her unfinished bento.

"I - Ino-chan w-wants me?" Naruto asked, confused. Ino nodded with a small smile. "That's exactly right, Hinata-chan! I want you to accept me as your," she says, "lover. I'd do anything for your love, Hinata-chan, so please..."

She suddenly leaned forward to kiss, and Naruto felt his heart beating fast.

Hinata's POV (3rd)

In the meantime...

"MMM!" Hinata mumbles through the bounds. 'Naruto-kun tied me up!' After using the escape jutsu from class, she found the ropes fall to the floor. Seeing Naruto-kun beside her, she touched him and gasped once a multitude of other Narutos popped seemingly out of nowhere. 'He used a replacement jutsu!' she remembered the flashback from earlier that day, 'but, how could he? How did he combine those two together? The Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Replacement Jutsu? Is he that strong, now?'

Naruto's POV (3rd)

Meanwhile...

"I - I love you, Hinata-chan..." Ino says, and Naruto blushes at her confession. 'This...this is why I've liked her so much. I...finally understand this feeling. Is it...love?'

He's interrupted by a growling of his stomach, from consuming expired milk that day.

He freaks out, and jolts away immediatedly. 'What bad timing! It really hurts!' He runs off without so much as a goodbye, leaving a confused Sakura behind.

"H - hey! What's the hold up? I want my kiss and I want it NOW!" she shrieks, and Naruto shouts back at a run still,

"Just a minute!"

'Maybe she's shy...' Ino thinks, smiling at the thought. 'that's so cute! She'll be my first kiss in no time!'

Naruto rushes to the bathroom, transforming back into himself as he goes about his "business".

'Man, I almost lost control of myself back there! I hafta be careful from now on,' he thinks, as he snatches a piece of toilet paper AANNDD we'll stop there (you'll thank me later).

He walks out the bathroom and stops once he sees Hinata-chan. "Heh heh, Hinata-chan," he blushes, "how'd you get loose?"

She averts her eyes, looking bashfully at her feet with half-lidded eyes. "I u-um...used the escape jutsu. That's h - how."

"Oh, erm, I see! Well," he strikes an overconfident pose, "I'm not done just yet. Shadow Clone Jutsu!

"E - Eee!" Hinata screamed, covering her face, waiting for the impact...

...that never came.

"Huh?" she asked, and her eyes widened once she sees all of the clones doubling over in pain. "N - Naruto-kun!" she says, stumbling over her words, as she tries to reach out for her. Before she can even say or do anything else, they all leave one by one. Rejected, she leaves feeling sad and walking outside, where she was greeted by a familiar face.

Hinata POV (3rd)

"I - Ino-chan?" she asks, seeing Ino blush once she walked over to her. "There you are! I was waiting for you." she says, blushing, and muttering, "what took you so long."

"Erm..." Hinata mumbles, uncertain herself. Confused, she looks around with her Byakugan, hoping for some clue as to what she was talking about exactly. But, alas, nothing. With a sigh, Ino stood up, with her hands on her hips. "You said something about Naruto earlier. If you want my honest opinion, he's just a good for nothing show off."

Hinata spins around, and, if looks could kill, Ino would be dead by now.

"W - what do you mean, Ino-chan?" She says, feeling anger in her own voice. Either Ino is oblivious to this or is just ignoring that in favor of explaining herself, Hinata would never know. "I'm saying that he's totally brash. Always trying to get attention from the elders and the hokage. Wanting people to acknowledge him? Please. He's just trying to get attention just because he's all alone. He has no friends, no family. I mean, why's he so special."

"D - don't say something like that." Hinata says darkly. "Eh?"

"I said, don't say something like that. You don't know what it's like...to be all alone. With no one there to love you...to save you," her voice hiccups as she remembers Neji sacrificing himself as a shield to protect her from a certain man (it's Itachi *spoilers*).

She clenches her jaw, gritting her teeth, with tears in her eyes. "You're stupid...you can't judge someone like that if you don't even know who they are and what they went through to get where they are today. That's why...you don't deserve my love. Goodbye." She walked off nervously, astonished at her own confession. But, she meant every single word. And Ino would never let it down.

Ino/Naruto POV (3rd)

'She's right. I shouldn't be so crass to Naruto. I'll apologize,' she thinks, throwing the bouquet of lavenders aside. She had more pressing matters to attend to. 'From now on, whenever me or Sakura see Naruto, we'll be nice. I swear on my mother's name.' she vows to herself, determined. She stands up once she sees Naruto walk over to her. "Hey, Naruto!" she calls. "Let's...uh...walk together." she says, forcing a smile. His eyes widen. 'Whoa, does she really mean that? With me?'

'No, no! This hasta be a trick, she'd never smile at me like that, unless if I was Hinata!'

He's about to perform a jutsu, when his stomach aches again. He doubles over, humiliated.

He then runs off, and Ino stares off after him.

3rd POV

In the meantime...

Gai and the Hokage are at Naruto's apartment. "This is where he lives?" Mighty Gai asks, looking at the spare milk jug Naruto has. The Old Man nodded, smoking his pipe. "It seems to be the case, Gai-san. He's teamed up with Hinata of the Hyuuga clan, and Sasuke of the Uchiha clan. Good luck with them." Gai nods, shaking the jug with his rough hands. 'Seems to be trouble already. A youth like this is so intriguing, I must say. If only I can teach him right, like his father...'

Naruto POV (3rd)

"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." He groans, clutching his stomach, as he sits on the toilet (yes, this scene is actually canon). 'This...HURTS. A lot.'

"I'M GONNA BE HERE ALL DAY! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He shouts, and then, comically, the screen fades to black once again.

PREVIEW OF NEXT CHAPTER:

"Alright, brave youths! GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE! Let us go to the ends of the earth and we'll introduce ourselves!"

And so, they did.

Thanks for reading!

I'm posting as I go, but the original fic is here to see:

/works/13881030/chapters/31936971

Feel free to check it out sometime :D