Hello my Naruto/Naruhina family! It's been a work in progress but here she is: my first NH story. The first of many hopefully, we'll see how this one turns out ;) Tell me watcha think! Happy reading!
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Naruto Uzumaki.
Number 9 on Konoha Preparatory Academy baseball league. Highest stats on the entire team by— not to toot his own horn— a whole lot. Rivaled only by one Sasuke Uchiha, who couldn't even bring himself to come to practice half the time, was pretty much a dick, but also somehow happened to be his best friend. Sasuke had always been a natural athlete, even from when they were little kids. In fact, Naruto hated him for it. How the girls were constantly fawning over the bastard and he hadn't ever seemed to care. Meanwhile, no one gave him the time of day. Sure he wasn't exactly the most studious person, like Sasuke was, or the most coordinated, like Sasuke was, or the most cool, like Sasuke— No matter, after years and years of long nights at the park, many recesses spent perfecting his aim, he went from bottom of the barrel to probably the best player in the entire region. People everywhere knew who he was. Sure at first he was "that scruffy blond kid from the playoffs," but after his stellar performance at regionals now he was a campus superstar. It filled Naruto with a joy that he hadn't ever known before. He was being acknowledged, loved. He had done that kid with the worn out baseball mit, and missing front teeth proud. He was basically a celebrity now— he had his own freaking fan base, how cool was that?— but that was usually to his teammates' chagrin.
"Would you just hurry up and step up to bat already?"
Naruto stopped practicing his swings and glared at Kiba. He stood at first looking especially pissed.
"What's the problem? Lee doesn't seem bothered about waiting. Why can't you?" Lee was stand-in pitcher when Sasuke was out— Sasuke was often out— and always seemed like he was ready to burst with energy. Naruto's favorite thing about him? How supportive he was of respecting Naruto's tendencies. Whatever pitcher says goes and if Naruto wanted to take a bit longer to dazzle his fans in the bleachers then according to Lee, "We should all learn from Naruto. His fans think he is so amazing and we should strive to be great as well!"
"We all know Lee's a fucking maniac. Would you just get your ass to home already?"
"No I can not, Kiba." He said pointedly. "If I'm going to carry this team then I need all the time I can get."
"You idiot, you've been holding up to entire game just standing there flexing for your stupid fans!"
Naruto dropped his bat dramatically, eliciting a chorus of boos from the girls, "Am not!"
(Okay, maybe just a little.)
"Naruto," a quite bored looking Shikamaru sighed from where he leaned against the dugout. "Could you hurry this up so we could all just go home already?"
Murmurs of agreement rang across the field. With a huff, the blond picked up his bat at trudged to home.
"You guys're just jealous," he muttered as he started his pre-batting ritual. Crack the left shoulder. Then the right. Shake out the right hand and firmly grip the bat. Run his fingers along the rim of his cap, making sure it was perfectly crooked backwards in true Naruto fashion. The ritual ended with him shooting the pitcher his signature grin of victory because when Naruto Uzumaki stepped up to bat, he'd already won the whole game.
He could hear Kiba groaning and a few "finally"s from his teammates as Lee readied his pitch. With as much flair and theatrics as his coach, he swung his arm back and threw with unbelievable force. Cobalt eyes fixed squarely on his target, Naruto smirked and brought his bat crashing hard into the ball. The delighted cheers of the girls congregated at the fence only spurred Naruto on as he proudly watched his ball fly high over everyone's head. He noticed that the outfielders didn't even bother trying to catch it, having enough of an understanding about the power Naruto packed in his swing.
There was nothing better than the sight of a ball soaring through the air on as crisp an afternoon as this one. It flew farther and farther and farther till it cleared the fence and probably would have traveled a few extra feet had it not clocked someone square in the forehead.
...
"Your sister has been slacking off a bit lately so I expect you to come by after rehearsals. Bring Neji. I plan to give Hanabi a reference to a few positions and you could probably use some tuning yourself while we're at it. That form of yours has probably gotten lazy." A pause. "Hinata?"
She flinched, "Er, um...sure."
"What was that?"
"Yes Father."
With that he hung up, leaving Hinata Hyūga staring at her black cellphone screen, a frown etched on her face. Not one phone call to ask how she was doing. Never, "How are you?" or "How's school? How's that speech course you're taking going?" Well it's not like she was ever really honored with a conversation focusing on her well-being. Discussions with her father usually centered around her younger sister Hanabi and how she was doing so well in the Hyūga Academy of Fine Arts, just to spite her. Hinata had grown up under her father's strict tutelage since she could walk. He had been breeding her to be the next big thing. And then there was the dreaded recital. The recital in which, after her resounding failure, her father began to look at her as the disappointment she was. She was 8 meant to perform in front of her father's esteemed colleagues. The dance was brutal for someone of her level of proficiency, though her father refused to see that, and she was far too soft spoken to even say anything, not that he would listen. When she had finally stepped up on stage— much bigger than she ever anticipated— and looked out upon those cold, calculating faces of her father's colleagues, she cracked. Looking back, Hinata considered herself lucky that she even moved. She had been petrified. Her shaking limbs hesitantly went along with the routine as best as she could until that one impossible move and ended up falling over her own feet, embarrassing her father and causing her to be the object of scorn in the dancing world from then on.
She should have hated it. Dancing. It had shaped her entire life, telling her when she could make friends, when she could do what she wanted to do because "Father I don't want to dance today" was not something that could be said. It caused her so much pain yet she could never bring herself to hate it. She loved it. Speaking was never Hinata's strong suit and with dance she could express herself in ways words had fallen flat. It had become a crucial part of who she was and once she had found herself, she couldn't let it go.
At age 12, Hinata had decided that that was what she wanted to do. Professional dance. Ballet. Which was why she went here, Konoha Preparatory Academy, to her father's disdain. "Why attend some second rate school when you could be dancing with the country's finest?"
She knew her father and she knew the institution. How brutal it was, specifically. She'd wanted to go here, where she could be free from her father's eyes and just dance without him slamming his cane down on the floor, stopping the music and insisting louder and louder that she could do better. "Again!" Or so she thought. Every week she had to return home and give her father a weekly report, which usually consisted of an assessment of her technique, to which he always found fault, and a glance at her performance scores. Since ballet was all that mattered in the eyes of her father, he never even cared to ask if she was passing Algebra.
The Hyūga sighed, laying her head down on her pillow. Everything was constantly happening too quickly for her to even process. She had to practice, practice, practice (or else), but that didn't mean time stopped for her other responsibilities. So she spent whatever time she wasn't dancing, which was all the time, studying, catching up on her other work, and consequently, sleeping just didn't seem to fit into her schedule. Hinata was sure that she'd forget to eat if it weren't for the fact that her father forced meals upon her for she must keep her body in "tip top shape."
She closed her eyes. She was just...exhausted.
A knock on her door roused her from any type of sleep. Knowing who it was, she mumbled an "it's open" and her visitor let himself in.
"Hey, Nata," Kiba greeted cheerily, launching himself onto her bed. A second presence followed shortly after, coming up to lick her face. Kiba Inuzuka, her best friend and the other reason she wasn't completely starved and his best friend, Akamaru. At her lackluster response, he shook her leg, "Hey, what's up?"
She sat up and put on one of her smiles, screwing her eyes shut, "Nothing's wrong. Just taking a nap before rehearsal."
Though not entirely convinced, Kiba shrugged, resting his head on Akamaru's side.
"Where are you off to?" She asked noticing the bag he'd left at her door.
"Practice. Well, first to take Akamaru to the kennel." At this, Akamaru whined. Kiba scratched behind the dog's ear, "I know buddy, but stupid administration says I can't keep you alone in the dorms anymore." He turned to her, "Naruto's waiting downstairs for me, I just wanted to make sure you were still alive."
"Oh ha ha," she said dryly, turning away to hide her blush.
Kiba eyed her, "And you sure you don't want to come see Naruto? I mean besides you, that idiot's one of my closest friends."
"I, er, no. We weren't that close when he left so I don't even think he'd remember me," she insisted. Little did Kiba know that she had her Speech and Debate class with him and also sort of harbored a major crush on him since they were freshmen. He'd left the academy for about two years and came back new and improved. And although they'd had been lab partners in physical science, she was far too shy to strike up any conversation, even after all this time. Besides, he had too many girls running after him anyway. What was the point of joining in? Before they had become friends, he'd called her weird and creepy once and that little thought always kept her away.
"Well," He got up from her bed, "Have fun, Nata, I'll call you later."
"Sure," She gave his companion a rub behind the ears, "Bye Akamaru."
Once she was sure Kiba was well down the hall, she crept over to her window. Sure enough, a certain blond was waiting down below. Hinata was sure that he couldn't see her from all the way up there but she hid behind her curtains nonetheless.
Naruto... Hinata sighed to herself.
The first time she had met him he'd been so happy to have been accepted into such a prestigious school. After working his ass off, he had bragged, he'd finally made it. Everyone thought he was annoying and loud but he made Hinata smile that day. Her father had begrudgingly dropped her off and barely even stayed for the opening ceremony. (He was still pretty upset about her decision to audition for this school and not his.) After he left, Hinata was pretty nervous about the whole thing. She was all alone. But Naruto somehow made her adjustment less of a struggle. He was constantly her source of happiness and warmth for the duration of his time there. He wasn't particularly the most...learned scholar but he was determined to be better than everyone else. He was going to be a pro athlete! He said so often with such absolutism that it left her stunned. He was so certain of the things he wanted and nothing anyone said mattered because he was in charge of his life. She wanted to be just like him.
Then one day he had to leave. Hinata had heard he was doing some special study abroad thing, but she hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. After crying about it for a week, she came to terms with the fact that she'd never see him again.
Then one day walking into Speech and Debate, she caught a glimpse of a familiar head of unruly hair, and she had dropped her books in the doorway. All eyes had rushed to her and she hastily collected her things and sat as far in the back as she could, face ablaze.
He was different. A good different. More mature, which was strange for Hinata to see, but other than that, he was still him, he was still Naruto. She could do nothing as her feelings only grew throughout the semester.
Ever the master of being invisible, she was certain Naruto hadn't noticed her yet and she wanted to keep it that way. However, she knew it was a matter of time before her teacher realized that she hadn't spoken out loud and call her to the front when she had to face him. She'd probably embarrass herself.
Hinata winced and clenched the drapes.
When Kiba and Naruto were out of her sight, she drew her curtains and flopped unceremoniously onto her bed. Checking her phone, she gaged that she had a little over thirty minutes until her class began. Nothing, she yawned, a little shut eye wouldn't do…
…
A text message buzzed her phone to life. Hinata blearily rubbed at her eyes. She rose an arm above her head, stretching as she checked her messages. Realizing what time it was, she almost popped her shoulder out of place. She'd overslept! Several texts from her cousin Neji asked where she was and if she was aware that her father would kill her if she skipped class.
Yes of course she knew that which was why she flew out of bed, throwing a bag together with all of her equipment in panic. She had less than 5 minutes to get across campus and she was glad that she'd decided to get dressed beforehand. Barely even sliding into a pair boots, she ran out of her dorm, not caring if she had closed the door.
Sprinting across campus proved more difficult than Hinata had hoped. Her usual route would ensure her tardiness— she took a longer route maybe just to pass by a certain someone. There was quite frankly no other way unless, she thought, panting at the crossroads, she could cut through the sports fields. Hinata wasn't certain but there weren't any major practices going on so the fields should've been relatively devoid of people. The less people saw her, who'd just rolled out of bed and would be a sweating mess in no time at all, the better.
The Hyūga made her way towards the football field, almost running into a few joggers who were using the track that encircled it. She called back an apology and continued running. The Performing Arts building was in sights, Hinata noticed in relief. She just had to get past… Oh no. How could she have forgotten Kiba specifically telling her that there was baseball practice today. What if someone recognized her? She wasn't exactly the most presentable at the moment.
From where she had stopped, she examined the field. No she wasn't searching for Naruto but it was useful— and a bit painful— information to know that he was entertaining his fans. With a deep breath she sped on, taking advantage of his preoccupation.
Just don't look, Hinata told herself. Don't look and it won't matter. Just pretend there isn't anyone over there.
The sound of girls booing only disproved her mantra. They weren't talking about her, were they?Wincing, she ran on, determined not to even look at him because she knew she'd make a fool of herself and trip or something.
She pushed on even as commotion on the field ensued. Kept going as metal bat clashed with ball. Slowed as calls of warning came from the field. Came to a halt as they got louder and more urgent. She stopped where she was, noticing that everyone in fact was looking at her (mission failed) and waving their arms around. Hinata was admittedly having trouble understanding what they were saying until she caught the words "above you." Lavender eyes slowly looked up at the sky and then she had a perfect view of the Performing Arts building behind her as sudden impact sent her head flying back. After that though, all she could see was stars.
…
The sun is a star. She'd retained that much from science classes over the years.
When the bright colors of the stars faded she found herself staring straight up at the sun. It was a well known fact that staring too long could blind a person but Hinata was to dizzy to even notice. Blue, concerned ridden eyes started down at her and once the buzzing in her ears stopped, Hinata could recognize him speaking to her.
"Hey, can you hear me now? Are you alright?"
She could feel her face heating up at his close proximity and had trouble finding words.
"I...I um,"
A new, painfully familiar voice entered the fray, "Naruto, you fucking idiot!"
She winced at the sound of impact to the back of Naruto's head. His ratty orange hat was sent flying into the dirt and the blond glared at Kiba, rubbing his head, "What was that for?!"
"If for once you'd deflate your stupid ego, this wouldn't have even happened!" Kiba was kneeling at her side, helping her sit up. "Hinata are you okay?"
"Yeah, Kiba I'm—"
"I had it handled, Kiba," Naruto swiftly socked his teammate in the shoulder.
"Ow, what the—"
Naruto took Hinata in his arms and she froze. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she barely registered what he said.
"Hey I'm really sorry. Sometimes I can get carried away, you know? You're not hurt are you?" He looked genuinely sorry and all Hinata could do was stare.
Make cognizant sounds Hinata! Go on, you can do it!
"I—"
"Naruto!" A quickly approaching voice called. Another one of their teammates came sliding up to them. By his haircut and sheer exuberance, Hinata recognized him as one of Neji's friends, Lee, if she remembered correctly. His forehead kissed the dirt as he bowed before her. "Please forgive me. It was my pitch that caused Naruto to hit with such power. Part of the fault is mine and I am truly sorry."
"It's okay really I—"
She felt warm liquid working its way down her nose. Her hand flew to her forehead and she almost passed out when blood stained her fingertips.
Lee gasped loudly and continued bowing and sputtering profuse apologies. Naruto had blanched and Kiba was glaring daggers at him, "You're a dead man, Uzumaki."
The rest of the team arrived and they all circled her, and Hinata really wished that she were dead. Realizing why she was there in the first place, she knew that her wish might become a reality. Class had no doubt started by now, about twenty boys were staring at her in her sweatpant wearing glory, and Naruto Uzumaki of all people was hovering beside her.
"Please allow me to take you to get some medical assistance!" Lee cried.
"That really isn't necessary, it's probably not that bad." She insisted, wanting everyone to just stop staring at her and maybe also leave her there so she could die of mortification.
"Not that bad?" Kiba echoed. "Hinata, I'm not letting you go anywhere else until you get that seen to. Naruto," the Inuzuka gave him another smack to the back of his head. "You're going too."
Naruto tore his eyes away from her (she just realized his eyes had been fixed on her) and up to Kiba, "I know that!"
She was so disoriented that the speed of Lee scooping her up and depositing her on his back left her spinning.
"Wha— What are you doing? P-Put me down."
"Relax!" Lee smiled, stretching his legs, "I've done this exercise many times before and it will contribute towards my training!"
"B-But I-I…" Hinata stammered. "Kiba!" She really needed an out of this situation or she might keel over out of utter humiliation.
Her best friend proved no help as he shrugged, "If Lee's offering, I don't see a problem. We'll all go."
Suddenly she was effortlessly shifted from one back to another and the blood rushed to her face as she stared down at a head of gold.
"I'm the one that did it, the least I can do is take her."
Lee turned to Naruto, "But it was the impeccable pitching style of Guy-Sensei that caused me to—"
"Would you two cut it out already." Shikamaru Nara groaned. "At this rate she'll bleed out and that'd be a total drag. If it means that much to you two weirdos take turns or something but I suggest we get going."
This really couldn't have been happening. It was all a dream. It had to be. She was not trekking across campus, a whole baseball team in tow, on the back of the most enthusiastic person she had ever seen in her life and then Naruto, with his jacket sloppily wrapped around her head because no one had had anything to stop the bleeding.
But when they finally arrived at the nurse's station — all twenty-one of them, a group of sweaty boys carrying a dazed ballerina, and received the strange looks of other students. The heat on her face was all too real to deny.
...
