Race to My Heart
By Coffee Blackplease
Summary: AU, don't be discouraged by the SciFi label I'm not even sure if this counts as SciFi. Hinata is a little more confident and Naruto is as rambunctious as ever, but soon they will meet and fall in love! M later on
Author's Note: This is my first Fanfiction… ever! I'm really new to this and I'm really excited/nervous to have people read my writing! I usually keep my ideas to myself but I really love reading so many of the things I read on this site and I couldn't help wanting to share the stories in my head too! Be honest with your opinions please, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't care if you "flame" me or whatever, as long as it's your honest opinion then I want to hear it and hopefully I will be able to improve my writing. Anyway I'm talking too much, just know, *This story will alternate points of view and the change will be indicated by the new character's name being written in bold and followed by a semi colon.
Anyway on with the show!
Chapter 1: My Name is Hyuuga Hinata.
Hinata:
I never really thought much about racing. Sure it's a big deal around here, or I guess it is everywhere now-a-days. But still, I never gave it much thought. I can't remember having any particular opinion on it until… well until I met Uzumaki Naruto.
Wednesday, March 15, 2082 Tokyo, Japan
Hyuuga Hinata. That's my name and I love it. My mother named me Hinata after her pet dog she had early on in childhood. I suppose most people would take offense to this, being named after a dog, but I always thought it suited me. Not to say I'm like a dog or anything, just that that dog brought my mother comfort.
Being from the second branch of Hyuuga, which is often considered inferior to the main branch put a lot of strain on her as a child. She was never expected to succeed at much, and she had to rely on her own confidence instead of that of her family to achieve her dreams. My mother's mother and father died shortly after she was born and she never could remember much about them. She grew up in a small apartment in one of the Hyuuga owned buildings downtown, being raised by her Aunt Katsumi.
Hinata, her dog I mean, had a coat of golden hair that was always shining like sunlight. That and her big brown hues were what earned her the name Sunflower. Hinata went everywhere with my mother, she walked her to school, and would be waiting outside the gates after class to bring her home safe. She walked her to the market, past the new-age jazz musicians and long-forgotten stage performers providing lucky pedestrians with what could be their final act. She slept at the foot of her bed and cuddled into her side when she had nightmares.
Hinata was my mother's only friend for years. They played together, ate together, and my mother would always swear that they laughed together too. To a lonely girl with no parents, next to no social skills, and absolutely no familial encouragement, Hinata was the best thing that could have happened to her. My mother even told me of a time Hinata had saved her from a couple of neighborhood bullies who decided it would be fun to chuck stones at her. Yes, Hinata was a good dog.
I always feel honored knowing that my mother named me after such a strong presence in her life, one that affected her so greatly. It makes me feel like my mother meant for me to be strong and kind, just like her first Hinata, and one day I hope I can bring someone the same type of comfort Hinata brought to my mother.
…Now, my family name, Hyuuga, is one I love equally. This might seem odd considering how hard being a Hyuuga made life for my mother, but after marrying my father, the heir to the main branch, her life completely turned around. They were really in love despite what all the old bats hanging on every whim of the Hyuuga council would prattle on about. I could tell by the way they looked at each other, by the gleam in my mother's eyes, and the hint of a smile that my father would only wear when my mother was near.
I love the name Hyuuga because of what it expects of me. Sure, I'm not heir, as my father gave that position to my cousin Neji years ago, but people expect great things from me and I consider this a blessing rather than a curse. Knowing how much it hurt my mother, for people never to expect anything from her, I love that people hear my name and think, 'she's going to do something great'.
I am Hinata Hyuuga, daughter of Hiashi and Harumi Hyuuga, elder sister of Hanabi Hyuuga, and cousin to Neji Hyuuga, the future head of Hyuuga Inc. the world's third richest anything period. Meaning my father could literally run countries if money was really the only factor. Hyuuga Inc. is at present the most influential and most prosperous member of the PTMP, aka the Populate The Milkyway Project.
The Project was launched in 2060 due to Earth's ever growing population and the estimated population growth rates found at the time. It is an internationally supported project and has also been praised by the UN. My family, the Hyuuga, who were already successful business tycoons in Japan thought it wise to dabble into the field of inner-galaxy colonization. Not that there is any life out there, at least none that has been found in our galaxy, Hyuuga Inc. and the other members of the PTMP work to make the solid structures around us suitable for human living. The main focus has been the moon and developing a space port there on which astronauts and members of the PTMP can interact with one another.
So far, they have managed to establish a few small but functioning communication centers across the moon and they have already started the building of the Space port. It is meant to serve as a home base from which members of the PTMP can launch and further explore our galaxy and hopefully create satellites to orbit our neighboring planets that are large enough to accommodate a small fraction of the earth's population while still being safe and comfortable.
It may be far fetched but some progress has been made and blueprints for one such satellite designed by my cousin Neji were just approved by the PTMP and it is rumored that construction will begin in 2084. More impressive I think is the improved international relations that have resulted thanks to the Project. There hasn't been a war in over 25 years! That's amazing, in my lifetime there has not been a single war for me, or any of my loved ones to witness.
Sure there are the occasional small scale rebellions and they are unfortunate, but to see such a wide domain of peace over the planet just warms my heart. I'm not saying life is perfect, I'm sure crime rates are the same as they always were, and there are still poor people and class divisions and prejudice, but overall international relations have improved, and I think that's something to be grateful for, even if most of the people responsible for this peacetime are only after money.
All in all I am proud to be the member of a family whose influence has helped to bring about global peace, and for the most part prosperity. Maybe my opinion is somewhat biased but I truly believe that and I will work to support my family in anyway that I can.
My dream is actually to be one of the diplomats for the PTMP. The project may be internationally supported, and most of the world's countries do participate in it, but still sometimes diplomacy is needed to smooth over any conflicts and keep the peace.
That is what I want to do, keep the peace, and if that means kindly sharing information and ideas developed in one branch of the PTMP with members in another regions branch, then I will gladly do so.
I just hope that I can actually be of some assistance…
Oh well, I should probably clear my head of all of this now, after all I have a physics test today, and despite my cousin and sisters knack for it, I'm not exactly an expert.
I looked down at my watch and started to sprint down the street
Gosh darn daydreaming! I'm going to be late!
Luckily I could see the outline of my school as I neared the top of the hill and I rushed in past the few stragglers that didn't seem to care whether they were late or not. The sign that read Konoha High gleamed in the sunlight as I ran under it and into the school.
Whew, I made it and with just a minute to spare!
I quickly composed myself and took my usual seat beside the school's valedictorian Haruno Sakura.
"Good Morning Hinata-chan, I see we were cutting it kind of close today were we?"
I flushed in embarrassment, "Huff… I g-guess s-so,"
She laughed "Wow, stuttering are we? You must be really out of breath," she teased.
I smiled slightly at her, she was right stuttering was one of my old childhood habits that I'm proud to say I grew out of, or more accurately worked my way out of, those speech classes were no joke! But the stutter still slipped when I was nervous, under extreme pressure, or in this case, completely winded.
"Yeah, I sprinted all the way from the giant sycamore tree!" I confessed, completely in control of my breathing now.
She only smiled, "Oh, Hinata-chan, what am I going to do with you?"
We both chuckled at that and then faced front as Nakamura-sensei entered the classroom. We all stood and bowed "Okay class," she said "I hope you're ready for that test," we all groaned, with the exception of Sakura that is, she merely made a little huffy sound.
She turned to me, "Don't worry Hinata, you'll do fine,"
I smiled at her, "Thanks Sakura-san, I know you will too."
And then the test began, oh joy, the wonders of physics! I couldn't help but smile to myself at my little mini joke, and people said Hanabi was the funny Hyuuga, please! Oh well, no use in getting upset.
For now I guess I'll focus on my test.
That's all for now,
Sorry if it's kinda short!
Review, Review, please! ;D