Meiyuu
A Naruto Fanfic
By Gingeh, who only owns a very shinyful Naruto poster.
Punch. Punch.
Stupid Sasuke.
Punch. Kick.
Stupid Sakura.
Punch. Punch.
Stupid world.
Kick. Punch.
"A-ano…"
He jumped, and grabbed a kunai, twirling to face his opponent.
"Eep!"
…Oh. It's just that weird girl.
True to form, Hinata had her fingers up by her face, which, already pink, darkened to maroon when Naruto met her eyes. She gulped, and seemed to have to force words out of her mouth.
"N-N-Naruto-kun…you b-broke the t-target a w-while ago. A-and I t-think if you k-keep t-training on that t-tree, it w-will fall d-down..."
He glanced in front of him and, sure enough, the target was in pieces on the ground, and there was a rather large dent in the tree in front of him. Huh. Go figure.
He chuckled and turned back to Hinata, who was carefully looking at the sky, the tree, her feet – anywhere but him.
Why is it that she can never look people in the eyes? It's not that hard…well, it's kind of difficult now, but that's only because she won't look at me.
He grinned at her, hoping she'd look up. "Thanks for the warning!"
She jumped, her face flushing again.
"N-n-no p-problem, Naruto-k-kun."
There were a few moments of silence, something rare for Naruto. But what am I supposed to talk about with this girl? Besides, I'd really rather be alone right now. But it's not her fault I'm in a bad mood, and she did save that tree, so-
"Naruto-k-kun?"
He blinked. She'd started a conversation? That was weird… "Yeah?"
"A-ano…if i-it's not i-imposing too much…w-what happened?"
He felt his jaw drop to the ground. How did she…
He pulled his face back into normal grin when he noticed her staring. "What do you mean? Nothing happened." He gave her the official nice-guy thumbs-up.
"B-but, Naruto-kun…N-Naruto-kun only t-trains like this w-when something b-bad has h-happened."
"No way, Hinata! I train all the time! I have to build up my strength to become hokage, ya' know."
She shuffled her feet. "I k-know you t-train a l-lot, N-Naruto-kun. B-but, you o-only train like t-this when s-something is w-wrong."
He froze.
"I-It might h-help to t-talk about it…"
Deciding to continue to pretend he was fine would be pointless, he let his cheerfulness drop. "I don't think talking will make me feel any better…"
"It n-never h-hurts to t-try."
He gave her a half-hearted version of signature grin. "Persistent, eh? Alright. It can't hurt, I guess. Just…promise you won't laugh or something, okay?"
She smiled, face still cherry-red. "I'd n-never l-laugh at you, N-Naruto-kun."
"Okay, then." He sat down and leaned his back against the tree, closing his eyes. "Well, I overheard Sakura talking – well, arguing really – with Ino. You know who they are right?"
She nodded, and he continued.
"It went something like this…"
"Ramen, ramen, ramen…" Naruto whistled happily and patted the coupons in his pocket. It wasn't everyday fate let free ramen vouchers blow into in his face, and he certainly wasn't going to let these go to waste. "Now, should I have chicken, or beef, or-"
"You just want him for yourself!"
"Shh!"
He paused midstep. Wasn't that Sakura? Didn't she have hospital duty today?
He backed up, and sure enough, sitting on a bench a little way away from where he was standing, was Sakura, joined by her friend with the ponytail…what was her name?
"Don't think I'm falling for this, pig!"
Oh, yeah, Ino!
They lowered their voices and, unable to resist being curious, he crept closer, until he was crouching behind a bush about two feet away.
"First off, why would I want to steal him? He's a traitor," Ino snarled. "The people he betrayed us for? They killed my sensei. They've also hurt my teammates, on multiple occasions, and their goal is to destroy Konaha, the world…everything and everyone I care about. Why would I have any romantic feelings for anyone like that?"
Oh. He felt a pang in his chest. Sasuke…
"He is NOT a traitor!" Sakura's face had turned red, and she looked on the edge of tears.
"You can't deny it. And he's always going to be a traitor. I know you and Naruto have high hopes, but even if Sasuke somehow has a miraculous turnaround and decides to come back, no one in this village will trust him. He'll be despised, scorned. Hated." Her tone indicated that she would definitely be one of those people scorning. "He'll pretend he doesn't care, but he'll get angry. And eventually, he'll leave. He made a choice, a life choice, and there's no going back."
Sakura was openly crying now. "You're wrong! We can make it happen!"
"You can't turn back time, Sakura. We all wish we could…but we can't. You have to live for the future, Sakura, not for the past."
She put a hand on her friend's head and ruffled her hair. "There's plenty of other guys, ya' know, forehead."
"I don't want anyone else! I LOVE him, pig!"
Naruto sucked in air, and rapidly started crawling away.
He let his depression overwhelm him, and let his head sink into his hands.
"And there you go. She's in love with Sasuke. I mean, I know she's said it a million times in the past but this time was…different."
He shook his head. "I guess this makes me stupid, being love with her all this time and not noticing. I mean, it's been years, and I still didn't get it.I sure do now, though.And it hurts. Unrequited love is the worst kind…"
"It r-really is…" she whispered.
"Huh?"
"N-nothing."
He felt a cool hand touch his shoulder, and smiled gratefully. "Thanks for hearing me out, Hinata. We hardly even talk, yet here I am, ranting to you like I've known you my whole life."
She shook her head. "N-no, I a-asked. I s-should be t-thanking you, for l-letting me l-listen."
He lifted his head, she blushed again. They both smiled.
"You wanna go get some ramen? Itchiraku's isn't far."
For a moment, she looked like she'd gone to heaven – and was possibly going to faint. But then, her face darkened. "I c-can't. My f-father d-doesn't allow m-me to e-eat at p-public v-vendors. H-he s-says it's u-unbefitting of the H-Hyuuga h-heiress."
He shrugged. "Then you can stay here, and I'll run down and grab us some takeout. We can picnic!"
A huge grin lit up her face, and she nodded happily. And then fainted.
From then on, take-out at the old training grounds was a common occurrence. Naruto and Hinata quickly grew closer, though they rarely met outside of meals.
"Ya' know," said Naruto, somehow managing to talk coherently through a mouthful of food, "I've never been able to talk to someone this long before. Well, I talked to Pervy Sage a lot while we were training, but he usually stopped paying attention after about six words."
Hinata giggled. "I-I'm sure you're e-exaggerating a l-little, N-Naruto-kun."
"I'm serious! Unless the topic was girls or his books, he'd zone out. I'd realize it I few minutes later when he'd start drooling or something…"
She laughed, and he grinned.
"Anyway, you're a really great listener, Hinata. Whenever I talk to Sakura, she just hits me." He rubbed his forehead. "Half the time I don't even know why she does it. I don't think she knows either, I think she just likes hurting me for some twisted reason. I'd say it's revenge for not bringing her precious Sasuke-kun back yet, but she was hitting me even before he left. It's a real mystery…"
"M-Maybe y-you're her stress r-reliever, like t-training is for y-you."
"Huh. I guess that kinda makes sense..."
They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, the peace only broken by Naruto's slurps.
"You know," said Naruto, talking with his mouth full again, "I just realized, even Kakashi-sensei doesn't really pay attention to me! I mean, it's really not fair. He listens to Sakura, and he even taught Sasuke the Chidori before he left, but me? Natta. Zip."
He swallowed. "No wonder I consider Sasuke my best friend. I mean, he's an arrogant, emo, incredibly annoying bastard, and even HE ignored me half the time – but the other half, he raced me. Insult-battled with me. Competed with me. Basically, he's the first kid my own age who acknowledged my existence as something worthy, worthy enough for him to call a rival."
Hinata opened her mouth, then closed in, then opened it again. "H-he…h-he w-wasn't the f-f-first…"
"Huh?"
She took a deep breath…then let in out in a sigh. "N-never mind."
"No fair, now I'm curious! Tell me, tell me!"
"I-it's nothing…"
"Awww, c'mon!"
"N-no, really…"
"But I wanna know!"
"Y-you were s-saying something a-about Sasuke-k-kun, Naruto…w-what was it?"
"Oh. Right. Well…I consider Sasuke my best friend because he was the first person to really take notice of me, right? Well, he's not really noticing me anymore, because he left for the bad guys-"
She giggled. "B-bad guys?"
His face took a red tinge. "Bad guys. Anyway, considering his second-to-main purpose in life now is to kill me, I don't think I can really consider him my best friend anymore. Sure, he's paying attention to me, but now that I have a choice, I'd prefer people to notice me in less…deadly ways. So, he is now officially not my best friend anymore. He's still my friend, though. Nothing in the universe can change that."
He gripped an imaginary pen, and crossed Sasuke's name off a floating, imaginary list with a large flourish.
"There!" He dusted his hands off. She smiled at his antics, and took another bite of ramen.
A few months after Naruto's renouncement of Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto were once again having lunch. They'd been mostly sitting in silence, Naruto eating and Hinata thinking, since the meal had begun.
"N-Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"T-this is p-probably a s-silly question…b-but…are we f-f-friends?"
He stopped mid-mouthful, a single strand of noodle dangling from his lip. "…You have to ask?"
She avoided his gaze. She actually thinks I'm going to say no, he thought in disbelief. "Of course we're friends, Hinata! We're better then friends! I mean, you're the only person I know who will sit through a three-hour ramen lunch with me six times a week, and not be frothing at the mouth by the end. Heck, I think you actually enjoy it! Not to mention that you're a great listener, and the only person I can think of who'll pay attention to more then the first three words that come out of my mouth. You're an amazing ninja, you're smart, you're brave, and…" He grinned. "You make the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. If that's not a quality for a great friend, I don't know what is."
She didn't move. She didn't speak. Naruto frowned.
"Hinata?"
Nothing.
"Hi-na-ta?"
He waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing. "Hey, are you okay?"
After several minutes of trying to raise her out of her stupor, Naruto was at his last resort. He whispered a quick 'sorry', grabbed a jug of lemonade, and dumped the contents over her head. She sputtered, and recovered her senses.
"What were you doing?"
Her face reddened. "I…I'm s-sorry, N-Naruto-kun…I t-think I started d-daydreaming. W-what did you s-s-say?"
"I said, of course we're friends, better then friends, and then I started listing all your great qualities, like being a great listener, and being so patient, and cooking so good-"
"Well," she corrected automatically. She's looking kind of dazed again…
"See? You even talk right! You're the best-speaking person I know, ya' know. Would you mind tutoring me in that sometime, by the way? Because Tsunade-baa-chan is always going on and on about how I'll never be hokage if I keep saying 'aint' and that sorta thing-"
Thump.
Hinata? Hinata!"
She'd fainted.
He reached for another pitcher.
"Hinata?"
"Y-yes?"
Naruto had finished his lunch, and, until a few moments ago, had been staring silently into space. He shifted his gaze back to Hinata, who was finishing her cinnamon roll, and said, "Did you know…five years ago today, Sasuke left the village to join Orochimaru."
Her eyes softened in sympathy. "N-Naruto-kun…"
He stared out into the distance, watching something she couldn't see. "It's also the day I broke my first promise. The one to Sakura, when I told her I'd bring him back. I'd never…failed to keep my word before. It was really tough. A couple of times right after that, I almost decided to stop being a ninja. To give up. The only reason I kept at it was because of Sakura. I couldn't just leave her alone. Even if she hated me because I wasn't him, I still loved her, and she needed to have someone."
He flopped onto his back, his eyes following the clouds in a way that eerily resembled a certain lazy genius.
"But I couldn't take it. Whenever she looked at me, I saw blame. Every word she spoke had a little bitterness behind it. I couldn't leave her, but I couldn't stay either. It was tearing my heart apart. So I left, telling myself it was just to get stronger, so I could bring him back. Keep my promise. I'd make Sakura smile without pain, and her first one would be for me.
"But I came back, and I still couldn't beat him. No matter what I did, he was always one better then me. His advantage was, and is, that he's willing to kill me. I don't have that luxury. So I keep trying, and I keep failing, and even though Sakura's okay now, she won't be really happy until I can bring him back."
A breeze rustled the grass, and Hinata lay down next to him, staring upwards as well. He turned his head and smiled at her.
"But," he said, his eyes losing the depressed sheen in favor of his usual twinkle, "One year ago today, we had our first lunch, out here." He waved his hand around to indicate the training grounds. "You really helped me that day, Hinata. You always help me. No matter what problem I have, just talking to you about makes it seem so much…smaller. There's no one else I know who can do that."
She blushed. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."
His mouth suddenly dropped, and he stared at her. Her heart started pounding. "What? What is it?!"
His eyes were wide, and he whispered, "You didn't stutter."
Her own eyes widened, and then closed as she fainted.
"…So then I said, 'Yeah? Well, I once beat a certain ninja by farting!' And Kiba turned this really funny shade of red, and Choji laughed so hard he started choking on some of his chips!"
Hinata started giggling, her eyes dancing. "That explains why he was so quiet during practice yesterday! Oh, poor Kiba-kun, he must have been so embarrassed!"
He grinned wickedly. "Oh, I didn't stop there! I also said-"
"Naruto?"
He froze. Hinata paled.
Standing just three feet away and staring at the two of them with a shocked expression on her face, was Haruno Sakura.
She looked back and forth between the two of them, then to the remains of their picnic on the ground.
Naruto nervously ran a hand through his hair. "H-hey, Sakura-chan. What's up? Heh-heh…"
"What were you two doing?"
"A-ano…w-we were h-h-having lunch, Sakura-san…"
Huh, Naruto thought absently. I guess she still stutters when she's talking to other people…
Sakura had a glint in her eyes, and it was frightening both of them. "I see…" she said, nodding sagely. "You were having lunch. Way out here. Alone. Talking, laughing."
Her eyes still held that creepy glint, and Naruto scooted away. Hinata seemed too scared to move.
Sakura's face suddenly broke into a broad smirk. "Don't worry, I'll leave you alone for your date now."
A brief moment of silence. Then, chaos.
Naruto jumped up and started babbling and denying, waving his hands around so frantically that he hit himself in the face, multiple times. Sakura still had that irritating, knowing smirk on her face, and she had started snickering wickedly.
Hinata, predictably, had fainted.
"We were – are, not on a date!"
"Suuuurrrre, Naruto. By the way, you're blushing."
"No, I'm not!"
"Don't worry about me telling anyone, I'll keep quiet."
"There's nothing to tell!"
She didn't seem to hear him. "A secret love…how romantic!"
She smiled, and his face resembled a tomato. "It is not!"
"There's no point in denying it, Naruto, I saw it with my own two eyes."
"You didn't see anything! We were just having lunch, like we always do-"
He realized his mistake too late. Sakura was already grinning like the Cheshire Cat, rubbing her hands together evilly. "Always, you say? Having lunch like always?"
He suddenly felt an urge to run up to the nearest hard surface and start banging his head against it. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"Well, we're not trying to keep it a secret or anything," he defended. "But her dad doesn't-"
Sakura gasped dramatically, interrupting him. "No need to say more, Naruto! Ah, forbidden romance…" She closed her eyes. "I can see it all clearly now…the shunned orphan loves the heiress, but her evil father despises the boy, and orders him banished! Their love is doomed! But, the orphan and the heiress continue to meet in secret…"
She sighed, smiling dreamily for a moment, but then squealed loudly, grinning and hugging herself. "It's just like a fairy tale!"
"No, it's not!"
Again, she ignored him, instead whirling around and skipping away, humming.
"Oi!" he yelled after her, frustrated, and she turned.
"Don't worry, Naruto!" she grinned. "Your secret is safe with me!"
Then she was gone, and he face-palmed.
Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better.
He sighed, and finally noticed the passed out Hyuuga. He reached for the nearest pitcher, turned back to her…and felt his cheeks flame as his eyes rested on her face. He groaned, mentally berating himself. When his stupid face didn't return to its normal hue, and his stupid eyes didn't stop staring at her, he had no choice but to empty the jug on his own head.
A flash of pink. Naruto, who had been wandering mindlessly through the street, instantly dove into the nearest stall and cowered behind the curtain, ignoring the curious stares he got from the customers. He took a chance and peeked out…
Oh. It was just some lady wearing a pink hat. He sighed in relief, placing a hand over his pounding heart.
Okay, I have got to stop doing that!
This was stupid. Ever since The Incident, he'd been avoiding Sakura like the plague. So far, thanks to his awesome ninja skills – and a little, tiny bit of luck – he'd been able to stay out of her way. "But I can't do this forever," he mumbled.
"Do what forever?"
He jumped so high, he hit his head on the stall's ceiling. Sakura, who'd somehow managed to sneak up behind him while he was talking to himself, laughed. He shuddered. Ordinarily, laughter was a good thing. But with that creepy glint in her eye, a glint which she had somehow managed to keep since The Incident almost two weeks ago, it became something sinister.
He took a deep breath. Okay, Naruto, just carefully explain to her that it was not a date, just two friends having lunch. That's perfectly normal. It's also perfectly normal to have said lunch about six times a week. Friends do that all the time. It's also perfectly normal to have it way out there where no one can see us, because…well, because, Neji, Kiba, Hiashi, and probably a whole bunch of other overprotective freaks would start acting homicidal if they knew I was friends with her. Not to mention, a lot of people would misunderstand and start saying we're a couple. Like Sakura's doing now. So, just explain that to her, and she'll get it, and leave us alone.
"Okay, Sakura? You should know..." he began, and then trailed off when he realized the pink-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.
He couldn't figure out if he was relieved, or incredibly annoyed.
"No way!"
The high-pitched squeal rang through Naruto's ears, and he instinctively dropped to the ground in stealth mode. Now, where had that come from…
"Way!!"
Ah hah! Over there!
And, indeed, sitting once again on that historic – at least, in his mind – bench, Ino and Sakura were giggling hysterically. He inched closer, slinking his way over to the bush that had hidden him so well the first time. What are they talking about?
"Are you sure?" Ino looked positively giddy.
Sakura waited a dramatic second, and then slowly nodded her head. This set both girls off on a long trail of delighted laughter. Naruto was feeling a sudden sense of foreboding.
"I can't believe it!" Ino said breathlessly, before dissolving into giggles again.
"I didn't, either!" Sakura grinned broadly, and, Naruto noted with some fear, that glint was still in her eye. In fact, it seemed to have intensified. Creepy. "But it's totally true! And, to top it all off, you know what he said when I confronted him?"
Ino sat straight up. "There's more?! Spill!"
Sakura glanced around, and then motioned Ino closer. Naruto strained to hear her next words.
"He said, that they were just having lunch together…like always."
He froze as he felt his brain stop. Only one thought made it through over the girls' delighted shrieks. Sakura told Ino. Which makes Hinata and I… the village's hottest gossip. Conclusion: I am SO dead.
After a few moments of comprehending this information, Naruto's brain went into Hyper-Escape Drive, and he bolted. Well, sneaked away from the gossiping duo, then bolted.
"Naruto-kun?"
"Shhhh!"
He clapped a hand over her mouth, glanced fugitively around her room, then dashed back through the window he'd come through moments before, dragging Hinata with him. "I can't explain right now, but it's really important," he told her in a sharp whisper. "It couldn't wait until lunch tomorrow."
"M-m-mmmph!" How she manages to stutter while mumbling incoherently, I'll never know.
He leapt over the wall surround the Hyuuga compound, still cradling Hinata. He set off at a run down the street and over the rooftops, until they finally reached the dark, secluded training grounds. He set her down gently, noting silently that she was an even deeper red then usual.
"Look, before you say anything, I know it was really rude of me to snatch you out of your bed in the middle of the night, but I've been hiding all day and couldn't do it until now."
She opened her mouth, probably to say something about how it would be considered rude to snatch someone from their bed even in the daylight, but she closed it and nodded. "Okay, Naruto-kun. What were you hiding from?"
He grinned at her, but then remembered the severity of their situation. "Sakura told Ino her twisted version of The Incident at lunch the other day. And Ino's sure to have told anyone who'll listen. Which means, by this time tomorrow, Konaha will be going insane, you'll probably be in some sort of formal meeting with your dad, and I'll have died about three or four times at the hands of various different over-protective scary people."
Hinata's face had gone from red to white, and she was hyperventilating a little bit. "What are we going to do?!"
He scratched the back of his head. "I don't know! I've been trying to think of something all day, but…" He shrugged. "Planning stuff out isn't really my strong suit. My instinct is to just fight anyone who makes a comment, but I can't beat up the whole village!"
He collapsed to the ground, looking defeated. "Maybe we should just hole up in Suna until everyone forgets about us. I'm sure Gaara'd find us somewhere to live." His eyes turned thoughtful. "It'd probably be pretty nice place, too, considering his position. Probably not much compared to your Hyuuga Mansion, but still. It'd probably have lots of servants, and rooms, and meals…free ramen…" He trailed off, drooling slightly.
Hinata seemed torn between laughing and crying. "Naruto, running away won't help anything…in fact, it might make things worse! What if the Hokage needs you, or what if…what if my father found out! He'd murder you!"
"He's gonna murder me tomorrow anyway," Naruto said matter-of-factly, snapping out of his daydream. "Him, and Kiba, and Neji, and probably Gai and Lee too, just because it'd be youthful or something."
"…Yes, but…"
"Look, I'll leave a note with Tsunade-baa-chan, so she'll know where to find me, and you, if she needs us. And, she can probably cover for us with your dad. She can tell him we had an emergency mission or something." Hinata still looked worried, so he stood and placed a companionable arm around her shoulders. "Look, we won't be gone long, just long enough for this stupidity to blow over. Then we can come back, no one'll talk, and I won't be dead! See, this is for the best!"
She hesitated for a few more seconds, but Naruto's arm around her shoulders seemed to be quickly robbing her of her better judgment, and she finally nodded.
Naruto grinned hugely. "Great! Do you need anything before we go? Not like clothes, I'm sure we can get some in Suna…"
As she shook her head, he grinned again. "All right! Then let's head for Tsunade's office – I'll leave the note on her desk."
He hoApped up into the nearest tree, Hinata following a few seconds later.
"All right, Hinata! Just about another three days, and we'll be there!"
"Okay, Naruto-kun."
They continued tree-jumping in relative silence, trying to conserve energy. That is, until…
"Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah, Hinata?"
"There's a large amount of chakra quickly coming our way."
"Huh. Enemies, eh?"
"Well, they could be friendly…but…"
He sighed. "I reeeeeaaalllly just wanted to get to Suna in peace," he whined to no one in particular. "Is that too much to ask?"
"They'll be here in three…two…one…"
"Hello, dobe."
The word was hissed, and Naruto's eyes first widened, then narrowed dangerously at the person standing imperiously in front of him. "Sasuke…"
To be continued…
Authoress Note:
Hey, everyone! Finally, you guys get to see what I've been working on since July. The whole thing is 7,610 words, so I figured I'd split it up into two chapters so you wouldn't get bored in the middle or something.
In case you haven't already guessed, it's a NaruHina fic. I absolutely adore that pairing, even though it really doesn't have much hope. But then again, love conquers all, so...maybe Naruto will wise up a bit and they'll live happily ever after! -crosses fingers-
Anyway, the next and final installment should be out either tomorrow or the day after. I hope you'll like it!
Ooh, and before I forget, those of you who care, the title means 'sworn friend' in Japanese.
Review, please! But all flamers shall be bonked on the head with a clock. One of those big, old-fashioned clocks that weigh a bajillion pound. Muahahahaha!