The First Meeting

Whizzzz, thunk…whizzzz, thunk. Whizzz…

A shuriken landed high on the training pole, another swiftly followed, and it sunk into a tree by the edge of the training area. The third skidded through the leaves and out of sight.

The young boy who threw them scrunched up his face at the distance between the two weapons. His aim was still off. He had been practicing his throw for hours, and along with the throwing he had been climbing and jumping. All of it alone.

The light of day was drawing large shadows on the pale grass, but he hardly noticed. The day had been long, he didn't care that his hands hurt and his muscles ached, he had to keep going, he had to show them. He collapsed onto the cooling grass. A break wouldn't be a bad thing, maybe it was even useful.

He put his hands under his messed up blonde hair, and reflected on the last couple of days. It had been a strange week. For the first time he had a birthday he wanted to remember. Nothing big, and nothing more than what he would expect. Iruka-sensei had treated him to ramen, and afterwards he had voluntarily bought him sweets. It gave him the best feeling.

He turned his head to view the shuriken still embedded in the wood. They were his present from Iruka-sensei. Instead of smiling, he creased his face once more and recalled what Iruka said, "it's best you not tell anyone about these." Noting the boy's grumbling face, he added, "I don't want you to get me in trouble, after all you are only eight years old. You have a long way to go, there's no short-cuts you know, and you'll need these to train with. You have to work hard!"

Yeah, yeah. He knew that.

The books old objii-sama, Sandaime, gave him had been discarded, and they lay somewhere in his room. He thought he might read them later, if he could remember where they were. In any case they might be useful, things like 'Controlling Chakkra,' and 'The 5 Elements,' had to be good for something. He had never really liked reading, and he couldn't figure out why the old man was always so interested in him and his education.

He remembered something else, and it aggravated him to his core. No one other than Iruka and Sandaime had wished him a happy birthday. All at once the familiar weight of sadness crashed into his heart, and he sat up quickly. It seemed as if all eight years of his wretched life were breaking through, and he lay his heavy head in his hands, and groaned. The heartache of loneliness was sometimes to overwhelming to bear.

A rustling in nearby bushes caught his attention. Stoically, he wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve and shouted, 'whose there?'

The branches moved against each other, and unexpectedly, a young girl fell onto her hands and knees. The single long tendrils of hair on either side of her head touched the ground, and she wished her blue-black hair was long enough to cover her whole face. She was blushing as she raised her eyes, knowing that steely stare was going to greet her. His blue eyes were lovely; she just wished he wouldn't stare so hard, and for so long.

'Naruto-kun…,' she started, '…I'm sorry…'

He hastily wiped the last of his tears. 'You're spying on me!' He felt his barriers instantly spring up. It was not so much to guard his feelings, but to protect outsiders from seeing his deep gnawing anguish.

The girl remained on her knees, as if in supplication. 'No…I didn't mean…'

His tough exterior, now in place, expressed itself in his gruff uncaring tone. 'What do you want?' The girl, near his own age, had caught him at one of his worst moments, when his dark gloomy thoughts sought to invade what he liked to think was his sanity.

'I was watching you practice…,' she stammered. Her perfect pale skin had not lost its pink tinge. The truth was a little more embarrassing; she always watched him.

He interrupted, 'spying!' He wrinkled his nose. His sniff turned into a snort, and sucked up those tears still needing to be shed. There was no way he was going to cry in front of a girl. 'Who are you?'

All his young life he had known nothing but people's indifference. Even their rejection would be something, but it was their cold unresponsive stares that cut the deepest. No weapon, or highest level jutsu could ever hurt as much, or so he believed, as people who could not offer a smile or a caring hand in friendship. He wanted to hate them, every one of them, and for some reason he couldn't. Deep down he wanted them to like him, he wanted to win their approval, as if somehow every one of them mattered.

The girl knelt beside him. Not looking straight into his eyes, although she wanted to, she said, 'My name's Hinata.' Like everyone else she had always ignored him, but over the year she began to pity him, and soon enough she felt deeply sad over his seclusion. Unlike her, there was no one expecting him to be someone important. Often she was given the talk about the pride of the Hyuuga clan, and how she was the one to carry on the family tradition of becoming a great shinobi. Naruto wanted to be a shinobi, whereas she was never sure if that was what she wanted, and unlike Naruto, she had no real choice in the matter.

He offered a crumpled smile. He had seen her around. She was quiet and never spoke to anyone, and most of the time she was accompanied by important looking people. He never took notice of who people were, they never took notice of him. 'Yeah, I know you… you're always good… never getting into trouble.'

She nodded. He was right, but that was due to the fact she never did anything.

Suddenly he was wary, 'what do you want?'

In her hands she clutched a parcel, wrapped in delicate orange paper. 'You're very good at throwing those…' She lied.

He looked at the shuriken, and the one in the bushes was not completely forgotten. 'Yeah. I am. One day I'm going to be a great ninja.'

'Yes…' The corners of her mouth wiggled and she grinned shyly. 'I believe you will be.'

Naruto abruptly looked to the ground. Even at her encouraging words the doubt crept into his thoughts. He looked at his hands as he turned them over, they failed him often, and his mouth always let him down. He thought about his birthday, over and done with now. No one cared about his birthday, why should anyone care about his life.

She touched his arm and gave a small smile. 'If you want to be a great ninja then you will be, because that's what you want to be,' she went on quickly, amazed she could say so many words all at once. He didn't answer so she felt compelled to continue.

The tears long ago, a smile now brightened his face. He swiftly raised his head, and jumped to his feet with a shout, punching the air with his fist. 'Yeah, that's right! I am going to be a great ninja, maybe I can even be Hokage someday.' He turned to her and pointed a determined finger. 'You just watch me, I'm going to train really hard, believe it!'

Hinata blushed and her shy smile lit her face. She got to her feet, the parcel still in her hands. 'Maybe even I can became a shinobi.' She hesitated. Never before had she actually believed she could be a real ninja, even though it was assumed by her domineering father she would become one.

Naruto stood with hands on hips, and scrutinized her up and down. 'You'll have to work really hard.'

She nodded. It was enough encouragement for now. She pushed the orange parcel toward him. 'Happy birthday, Naruto.' She blushed even more brightly.

'A present… for me…' One hand wiped a stray tear, the other promptly took the gift.

The paper was rapidly torn off and flung aside, and out fell an oversized pair of goggles.

Naruto studied them with a squinted eye, while turning them over in his hands. '…what's these for?'

Her blush deepened. '…umm… you can wear them while you're swimming… and it can keep bad weather out of your eyes…' She instantly doubted her decision, wondering if she should have gotten one of those other headbands, but they were all so colourful. The only one worth having in Konoha was the Leaf symbol.

He had already brought it over his head and it sat on his forehead.

'… and it matches your jumpsuit…,' she said lamely.

'If I wear it like this,' he snuggled it in place under his hairline, 'it feels like I've got a real headband on.'

She smiled, it did suit him, and she was glad.

'Yeah, I like it. Thanks Hinata. I'll wear it till I've got the real thing.' He felt it on his head. 'Don't get offended when I stop wearing it!'

'No…of course not.' She couldn't resist smiling at his gleaming blue eyes.

'Now I can feel as if I'm the greatest ninja, and maybe then people of the village will pay attention to me.'

'Yes… '

His mischievous grin returned to his face, and she smiled sweetly in turn, happy she was able to help.