The divergence caused by courageous actions
AN: I am currently writing this on February 14, 2012, 21:00 CET, trying to at least upload it before midnight. The idea actually came to me a while ago, but I was very unsure about my writing (heck, I still am) and only now decided to try it. No pain, no gain, y'know? Now, while this is not my first fanfic, it is the first written in english (others being in german) and the first I'm actually uploading anywhere on the internet.
Just a heads up, this chapter (and the next) deal a lot with how the japanese celebrate Valentine's Day. At the end of the chapters I will put a small explanation of the traditions.
Chapter 1: Valentine's Day
It was Valentine's Day in Konohagakure. Everywhere you could see couples walking around, enjoying the festivities. Girls and women were running around, giving chocolate to their friends and loved ones. The entire village was in a great mood. Except for eleven year old Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto never told anyone, but he hated this day. To him, this day only reminded him of his loneliness. Never in his entire life had he received some chocolate this day, not even the cheapest cho-giri-choko. Every other boy in his class, no matter how popular, got some form of chocolate, mostly giri-choko or tomo-choko. And Sasuke could probably build a house out of all the honmei-choko he got over the years. But not Naruto.
That's why he decided to just ignore the day. He stayed at home, reading, tending to his flowers (the other boys would most likely laugh at him if they found out he liked gardening) and planning a prank he wanted to play on one of the teachers he had overheard talking bad about his sensei Iruka. The only interruption had been Iruka, who had decided to bring Naruto his homework, so he could study up on today's subjects. This at least had brought a small bit of happiness in Naruto (and strengthened his resolve to prank the other teacher), but not as much as what happened shortly after Iruka had left. Naruto had just started on the homework, having nothing better to do, when someone knocked on his door. It was very quiet, and he almost didn't hear it, but he did and went to open the door.
To his surprise, the visitor was a girl his age. He didn't recognize her at first. She had short, dark blue hair in a leveled hime-cut style. She wore a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, and navy blue pants. He couldn't see her face thou, since she was looking at the ground. She was also pushing her index fingers together.
"Um, who are you?" he asked her, wondering if maybe she got the wrong door. Hearing him, she finally raised her head, showing pupilless, pale lavender eyes. He now recognized her. It was Hinata, the timid, weird girl from his class. "Hinata? What are you doing here?" She was looking away again, and her posture practically screamed nervousness: "A-ano, I w-wanted to see i-if you are o-okay. C-can I co-come in?" Naruto was confused, but didn't show it. Since when did anyone from class besides Iruka-sensei care if I'm okay? He decided to just roll with it for now, but couldn't help but be nervous a bit. It was the first time he would let someone his age into his apartment, and it was a girl to boot! "Sure, come in. Would you like some tea?" "S-sure, if it's not a b-burden to you." She answered a bit hesitantly. Why would it be a burden, he wondered, but didn't say anything. He went to the kitchen to heat up water while she entered and sat at the table, slowly taking in her surroundings.
The room she was in was a combined living room/kitchen. A small hallway across the door was most likely leading to the bedroom and the bathroom. The apartment was a bit messy, but not much. Some ramen cups were strewn around, but nowhere where someone could trip over them. Overall, the place was quite cozy.
When Naruto brought her the tea, a heavy, awkward silence started looming over them. Both didn't know what to say. Naruto was getting agitated, but he didn't want to scare her off. Then he remembered the homework and that Hinata had most likely attended the academy today and thus knew about the subjects. When he asked her if she could help him, she was visibly glad he asked. So they spent the next two hours doing the homework. After a while, Hinata relaxed, starting to tell him about some things that had happened today at school. She still stuttered, but it toned down after a while.
However, all good things had to come to an end, and her visit was no exception. Naruto even offered her to walk her home, hoping to spend more time with her, but she declined. The biggest surprise of the day, however, was her final act before leaving. She pulled a light pink, heart shaped box out of her baggy jacket and handed it over to him. When he took it, she said "Happy Valentine's Day, Naruto-kun!" and left before he could say anything else.
Even ten minutes after closing the door and sitting down, Naruto was still staring at the box, almost afraid. He couldn't believe he just spent a nice afternoon with Hinata in his apartment, and she gave him this gift. He finally gathered his courage and opened the box. In it was a heart-shaped piece of chocolate. He carefully took it out and took a bite. Now, while he had never received chocolate on Valentine's Day before, that didn't mean he never had chocolate at all. He had gotten some from the Hokage occasionally, and also bought some for himself sometimes. But this was the best he ever had. And with this thought, he realized: this wasn't just cho-giri-choko or giri-choko, not even tomo-choko; it had to be honmei-choko. And that means…
"Hinata-chan likes me?"
AN: Well, that's the first chapter. Can't believe I finished it in time, including spellcheck, proofreading, and editing in (it's 23:40 CET) Now, for those who don't know: On Valentine's Day in Japan, it's the women who give chocolate to the men. There are various types of chocolate:
Giri-choko: "obligation"-chocolate, normally given to co-workers or classmates. There's also cho-giri-choko, which is the cheapest and is given to unpopular co-workers.
Tomo-choko: "friend"-chocolate exchanged by friends, especially girls.
Honmei-choko: "favorite"-chocolate given to your loved one. The color of the package indicates how strong the feelings are: the deeper the shade of pink (but no red!), the deeper the feelings.
So, by giving Naruto honmei-choko, Hinata pretty much confessed to him that she likes him. It is still a light pink, indicating a crush. Would this take place later (after Pein, for instance), it would be a much deeper shade of pink.
Since this is my first released work, I am especially looking forward to comments and reviews. Anything that can help me improve is appreciated. The next chapter will definitely be out before White Day (March 14)
