The Heart's Eye
I don't own Naruto
Sitting on a large desk, an old man sifted through a stack of files before looking up at the people before him. His hair had long since whited from age and wrinkles and liver spots covered every inch of his skin. Despite his age however, he was the Hokage, the ruler of these soldiers before him as indicated by his silk red and white robes that starkly contrasted with the standard green vest on blue uniform that the other people in the room were wearing.
"How should we divide these people up?" he finally said as he grabbed a pipe from a drawer to smoke.
"Well, these three should be placed together just like their fathers were I'd say." one man with dark and short spiky hair said, "There parents might freak out if we did otherwise."
"Agreed. Are you going to take them Asuma?"
"Yeah. I kinda like them."
"Very well, that's three down, what about the other six?" The old man said.
"I say we make these three into a recon team." A man with gravity defying silver hair and an eyepatch said, "Then I'll take the Uchiha and the other two."
"That's a possibility, what do you think Kurenai.?" the Hokage said as he turned to face a wrong woman with long and slightly curly dark hair.
"I disagree, most missions they'll do especially as genin won't require three people for reconnaissance especially given their rare talents. Hard to believe we'll need to send both him and the Hyuga or Inuzuka to the same place for any task even for higher missions." The woman said calmly, "That's why it should be divided into roles"
"A fair point. So let's divide them into offense, support and scout per team then? We can probably shift one of those three into a different role. Now, given the enmity between Hyuga and Uchiha, they'll obviously need to be on separate teams and that then puts the only other girl with the Uchiha. We should also but the Inuzuka with him. They'll need someone social to balance out that disturbed child. That of course means that you Kurenai must take the Hyuga, Aburame and... him. Are you certain you can handle that?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Dismissed."
With a flash and some smoke the Hokage was suddenly left to his own thoughts.
Leaning back on this chair, the Hokage stared at the ceiling. He'd always been a little worried for that child. His duties were like iron bars when it came to helping that boy and he knew that underneath a lot of what he said was a deep seated bitterness. Grabbing an old picture from a drawer, the Hokage took one final puff from his pipe.
I hope I won't regret everything I've done too badly.
"Todays the day!" Naruto said kicking his blanket off of him. Stretching his arms , he checked to calendar just to make sure. "Yep."
The boy was short for his age not that that was to be unexpected given his poor diet. His hair shown a bright sunflower yellow and his eyes were a deep blue unlike anyone he knew. Strangest of all though, his face had three whisker-like lines on each cheek not unlike a cat. Getting up, Naruto immediately put on one of the many orange jumpsuits he had and his new forehead protector. It always made him smile thinking of how he eluded people so often wearing the giant traffic sign of an outfit. Readying himself for the day, the boy stepped out into the bright morning sun. The village he lived in was rather rural given it's importance. Most building were two floors at most save for the tower in the middle just beyond the village was endless forest that stretched far into the distance making it a wonder how anyone was able to settle here. He couldn't wait to be able to leave this place tiny village. Already his mind was filled with images of all the places he might see. The mountains he might climb. He might even see the fabled ocean that was supposedly filled with salt and fish as large as houses.
Arriving at the academy Naruto kicked the door open with force as he rushed in to see all the excitement of people talking in their seats about what's to come. With only one aisle seat left, Naruto rushed in to claim it. Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto looked around fervently for his teacher.
"G...g... g"
Some strange sound was coming from somewhere. Looking to the source, Naruto realized it was what's-her-name.
"Oh, good morning" Naruto said waving at her enthusiastically.
The girl was a little weird to Naruto. She came from a really wealthy clan and yet she still sported that horrendous bowl cut like hair with two long bangs in front. Quite a shame really given that she might be pretty. Her outfit was little better which consisted of this horrible thick beige sweater with her family crest on it that made Naruto look outside to make sure it was actually the start of summer. It was fashion like this that made decide that it was ok to wear his all orange outfit. Still, her dark hair contrasted nicely with her pale complexion making her look nice in general but then there were her eyes that always put Naruto off a little. Her eyes were translucent white kind of like an egg white including her pupils giving it a sort of otherwordly look at times.
"G... g..." she tried saying before swallowing. "Good morning, Naruto."
"Hey idiot, what are you doing here! Only people who passed show up today." A voice said as a rubber eraser bounced off Naruto's head.
"Hey fuck you Kiba! I was able to graduate yesterday so shut the fuck up!" Naruto said pointing his thumb to his forehead protector which sported the leaf insignia of the village.
"Really!" the hooded kid said, "What dumb idiot decided to pass you?"
"That idiot would be me Kiba Inuzuka."
The boy froze. Standing at the doorway was their teacher, Iruka Umino with a none to pleased look on his face. Sporting a long scar across the bridge of his nose and the uniform of the village he looked pretty tough despite his otherwise handsome features.
"You're lucky I'm no longer you're real teacher or I'd give you a months detention. Still, I'd suggest you not ever do it again."
Walking to the podium, the entire class silenced itself as they stood up to greet him.
"Good Morning, Iruka-sensei." They said in sync.
"Good morning. Now please sit down." Iruka gestured to the class. "Today's a big day for all of you. You're now officially shinobi of our village. There isn't really much else to be said so I'm going to start assigning you your teams. Team 7 will consist of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Kiba Inuzuka."
"WOO HOO! In your stupid face Ino!" A pink haired girl exclaimed
"Keep gloating you haven't win Sasuke yet!" Ino responded with her teeth clenched and her face turning a little red.
"Quiet! Anyway, you're sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Now team 8 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame."
Naruto held in a sigh of depression. It wasn't that those two were mean to him, but he was really hoping for a more social team. The girl from what he knew had a severe stuttering problem and the Aburame almost never talked. He hoped his teacher would be more talkative or he was in for a lot of quiet missions.
"Your teacher will be Yuuhi Kurenai. And of course Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi, you'll be with Asuma Sarutobi. Well, everyone, good luck." Iruka said bowing his head a little, "Your senseis will be here soon."
"Sooooooo... Hinata." Naruto said trying very hard to remember her name now that there were going to be teammates and repeating it in his head over and over again. "What do you think or sensei is like?"
"I... I d-don't know Naruto."
Yep, their teacher better at least be talkative. "Well, it sounds like a girl so, I hope it's not some old granny or worse... someone ugly. Y'know like pimples, short or something... fat."
"I... t-t-think we'll be fine Naruto."
"Yeah, we'll I'm not sure I can stomach going to see an ugly old hen everyday."
After another minute, Naruto's jaw suddenly dropped. Was that her?
Entering the room was one sexy chick. Unlike most of the other teachers Naruto had seen, she was not wearing the typical green vest and blue jumpsuit. Instead, she was wearing a short white dress over a red fishnet shirt. Her thighs and forearms were also wrapped with bandages. One thing particularly interesting about this woman however, was that her eyes were red, kind of like round rubies.
"Team 8?" the woman said loudly to the class.
Naruto made a mental fist pump. At least if they were all quiet, Naruto had something nice to look at.
Rushing down with the other two Naruto bowed his head a little before her.
"Present" They all said.
"Good, so todays more just formalities so let's find somewhere more private shall we?"
Now that they were away from the classroom and sitting in a quiet field, Kurenai decided to introduce herself.
"So, I'm Kurenai Yuuhi and I enjoy alcohol from time to time, my favorite food is Takowasa and my dislikes... hmmm... I'd have to say that lazy Asuma. As for my dreams... for now I guess it's pretty open ended for me." Kurenai said looking at her new students. "Who wants to go next?"
Naruto decided to volunteer.
"Names Naruto Uzumaki. For now my favorite food is ramen and my hobbies, mostly just training I guess and my goals are to become Hokage myself one day. Oh, and I hate that bastard Sasuke the most."
"Hmmm, I see, who's next?"
When silence greeter her query, Kurenai bit her lip a little.
"Then how about you Hinata?"
"Me!" The girl said shocked as she pointed to herself."
"Yes don't be shy now."
Taking a deep breath, Hinata, struggled to get her words in order.
"I... really like flowers and... uhm" Hinata looked over a little Naruto, "Well... I really want to make my father proud of me and dislikes... not much I guess."
"Really? You don't have anyone you hate?" Naruto said raising an eyebrow, "What about food or something?"
"Well, I guess I don't like anything with shellfish."
"Very good Hinata, try to improve your talking skills, we'll all be friends soon anyway" Kurenai said giving her a comforting smile, " Now you Shino."
Shino was the king of weird to Naruto. The stereotypical creepy stalker, he wore a white long-sleeved shirt with a collar that completely covered his mouth. He also wore sunglasses even when inside which seemed kind of odd along with spiking his dark hair kind of like some sort of fro in a way. Naruto originally thought it was poor fashion sense but given his extreme silence, Naruto wasn't sure. Shino never spoke unless asked by the teacher despite Naruto's efforts and although tried not to look like he cared, he actually was interested in hearing what the boy was going to say.
The boy was silent for a moment before finally, a small breath could be heard. "Like: Don't want to say. Dislikes: Don't want to say. Favorite food: Fruits and Vegetables. Dreams: Nothing really."
"Wow, Shino. Fruits AND vegetables? You sure you didn't reveal too much there?" Naruto said somewhat angry with his secrecy.
Shino made no real response however which actually made Naruto even more angry.
"Now Naruto, it's fine if he doesn't wish to say." Kurenai said gesturing for him to calm down, "Besides, you'll all need to work together to pass the test tomorrow."
"What!" Naruto said wide eyed at her, "What are you talking about!"
Kurenai chuckled a little as she brushed some hair from her face wither her hand. "You didn't think it would be that easy did you? You're going to have to prove to me that you have the potential to be able to do missions together or else I'm going to have to fail you."
Naruto and Hinata were shocked while Shino was... Shino. "So, what do we have to do?"
"It's a surprise." Kurenai grinned, "But I assure you that it'll be harder"
Naruto swore to himself. He was not going back to that hellhole no matter what.
"Are there any more questions?" Kurenai asked.
Everyone was silent.
"Good, then I'll see you here tomorrow." She said and then in a flash, she burst into smoke and disappeared.
"Well, fuck me." Naruto said gritting his teeth. "What do you think we should do?"
They were all silent.
"We'll, I say we need to all reveal what we can all do." Naruto said finally, "I can do this."
Putting his hands together into a seal, a poof of smoke appeared revealing two Narutos. They seemed exactly the same.
"That's just the clone jutsu isn't it?" Shino asked.
"Nope, these guys are solid." Naruto said demonstrating as both plucked grass from the ground and allowed Shino to touch them both.
"...Interesting..."
"W-w-well" Hinata started, "I can use the Byakugan."
Putting her hands together to form multiple signs, the nerves around her eyes suddenly enlarged. An outline also appeared around her pupils causing the Narutos to step in for a closer look.
"W-wow Naruto, I can't tell the difference between you and the clone."
"Oh." One Naruto said, "So what do those eyes do?"
"I-I-I can see all around me a-and well, I can see everyone's chakra and use the gentle fist which can d-d-damage your vital organs."
Naruto whistled a little. "Cool... And what about you Shino?"
"...Nothing really"
"But you're part of a clan. You've gotta have something." Naruto demanded.
"No. I'm just a normal graduate."
Naruto knew he was lying and it probably had something to do with the weird way he dressed. Still, Naruto didn't want to pry. After all, he didn't reveal all of his own... talents either."
"So what now? We have no idea what's gonna happen." Naruto said shaking his head a little. "What equipment do we have? Anyyy I don't know, exploding tags here? I just have three kunai for myself, and a camouflage blanket. I also got a hammer and some nails and stuff like that I can bring along if we need it."
"12 Kunai, 12 shuriken and a bunch of trap wire." Shino said.
"That'll work..." Naruto nodded. "What about you Hinata?"
"Uhm... let's see... Uhm... 30 Kunai, 30 Shuriken, scrolls to seal them and other things into, four smoke bombs and a grappling hook and some lock picks."
"Damn." Naruto said, "The Hyugas sure come prepared. But that's good. Well, then I'll bring my tools then, they might come in handy. So that's that then."
"We should also figure out what Kurenai is known for." Shino said
"Good idea." Naruto said nodding, "Should we ask that Asuma guy that she didn't like."
"Uhm... w-w-we don't really need to..." Hinata spoke up, "I know Kurenai-sensei."
"Oh well that saves us some time. What can she do?"
"She specializes in genjutsu. In fact I think she's the best jounin at it in the village."
"Sounds tough... do any of you guys know how to dispel it with that fancy hand seal if it hits you. Cause I never really learned it."
"I will be fine..." Shino stated.
"I know... but I don't think it will be enough."
"I see... then one of us might want to travel in back to knock some sense into us if we get hit."
"Agreed."
"I think that's everything though." Naruto said getting ready to stand back up. "But maybe we should get to know each other. We're gonna definitely pass, so we should get to know each other then."
"I think I will pass." Shino stated.
"Suit yourself." Naruto said shaking his head. "Then what about you Hinata?"
"I-I-I"
"You don't have to come Hinata, I just thought we should just get to know each other a little more."
"N-No I want to come."
"Sweet. So how about we go eat at Ichiraku then? You sure you don't want to come Shino?"
"I need to go home."
"Fine, fine. We'll see you tomorrow then Shino. C'mon Hinata."
Dragging her off, he noticed that Hinata was on fire. Must be that think outfit she was wearing Naruto thought. It was like 75 degrees out, was it really that necessary?
"So... what do you think of the Shino? Pretty weird guy I mean seriously, what's he hiding under there? Drugs or something? You see anything by the way under all that?"
"Uhm... no, I think he was wearing too many layers of clothes." Hinata said poking her index fingers together. "Sorry"
"Wait, what do you mean too many layers?"
"If you wear a lot of layers of clothing over each other, it becomes very difficult to distinguish anything or see underneath it. He did have something strange about his body though. I couldn't really focus and make it out though. My cousin probably could though."
"Great... so he is hiding something. You know, I really hope we don't go to the Wind Country or something because honestly I'm not sure how you two will survive. I mean, I thought I was wearing too much for today. I hope whatever he's hiding is at least useful."
"Anyway, here we are. Is this your first time eating ramen Hinata?"
"Uhm, kind of. I've have n-n-noodles before though."
"Well hopefully you'll enjoy because honestly, I don't really go anywhere else."
As the two sat down on the barstools Hinata looked around. She never really ate outside very often thanks to the wealth of her clan and this place was unique. Small, with no more than a line of barstools for seating, the place still looked quite nice. Looking past the counter, she finally saw an old man come in from behind another curtain door.
"Hey Teuchi, this is Hinata. She's my teammate." Naruto said pointing his thumb at her.
"Uhm... g-g-good afternoon." Hinata said bowing her head.
"Oh please" the old man said waving his hand. "You don't have to do that, so have you decided what you want?"
"Just the usual for me and Hinata, do you have any idea what you want?"
"Uhm... I'll just have the beef one I guess."
"Nice choice, I'll be sure to do my best for the Hyuga heiress." Teuchi said giving her a thumbs up before heading into the kitchen leaving the two once again alone.
"So..." Naruto started, "Ya ever hear of the mountains in the Earth Country?"
"Uhm, no." Hinata said shaking her head.
"I've heard that they're the tallest in the world seriously. Apparently our mountain looks like a cow pie compared to them. They pierce the clouds clean through like a giant spear with the clouds not even reaching half way up. Man, what I would do to climb up there and look down at the world, I could probably see the end of and touch the moon from that high." Naruto said standing with his hand as high up as possible excitedly trying to show how tall those mountains must be.
"I wonder what it must feel like to be up there." Naruto said sitting back down with forlorn eyes. "It must be so... invigorating. We really have to pass tomorrow."
"You really want go don't you Naruto?" Hinata asked softly. It was strange to her, how she crushed on the boy for so long and yet, there was still a lot that she didn't know about him.
"Hinata..." Naruto paused as he tried to piece together the right words, "You ever feel... like your trapped? Like you're a big fish in small bowl?"
Hinata did. More that Naruto probably realized. She couldn't say that though as heir so she just nodded.
"Yeah... I've felt like that for a long time now I mean, don't get me wrong I wasn't lying about my goal to be Hokage but, there's just so much more out there that I need to see and feel and I can't stand being barred in the village any longer. I have to become a shinobi now. You have to as well huh Hinata? Can't imagine how much trouble you'd get into if you failed."
Hinata just nodded again. Her father would never forgive her if she failed to become a shinobi. He was already disappointed with her as it was.
"So Hinata, if you could go anywhere in the world. Where would you go?" Naruto asked looking at her intently.
"Oh..." Hinata said fumbling for an answer, "I don't know."
"Really Hinata?" Naruto said with a confused look on his face, "But didn't you agree that you also felt trapped sometimes? Surely you must have somewhere you'd wish to be. Like what about the Land of Wind? I hear that if keep traveling south, the desert gives way to lush green forests with trees laden with fruit. And then if you keep going you'll reach a beach of pink sand. I saw it once in vial a man showed me. It really is pink. A thin strip of pure pink sand he said and right next to it endless body of salty water. Or even just somewhere close like the imperial palace which uses a deep ruby porcelain to shingle their roofs and white marble for walls. I mean, don't you have some place in mind?"
Hinata desperately wanted to say 'in his arms' but felt her jaw lock in place like rusty steel. After what many painful seconds, Hinata just shook her head slowly.
"Well, OK Hinata, I guess it doesn't matter much because once we're shinobi, we'll get to see the whole world right?" Naruto said with a smile.
Hinata swallowed a lump in her throat. "Right"
That is if her father would ever allow his weak daughter to venture that far out of the country a small voice in the back of her head said.
"I mean, with eyes as good as yours, who knows what sort of wonderful things you'll get to see. Birds far up in the sky or tiny plants growing on cliffs who knows right?"
"...right"
Naruto smiled and nodded. "Have more confidence in yourself when you say that I mean gosh, it sounds as if you don't believe me when I tell of all this great stuff out there. But I guess we can work on that later right?"
The rest of their time waiting was most silent until finally Teuchi returned with their food. Taking a small sip of the soup, it tasted great to Hinata causing her eyes to widen a little bit at the explosion of flavors. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at seeing her.
"I take it you like it." Naruto said grinning.
"I-i-it... it tastes... wonderful." Hinata said eating it.
"And apparently it's not even the best, Teuchi says where he comes, he could get the freshest ingredients not to mention all the spices he says aren't available here. He says he can't even get half of what he used back home for his noodles here. So buck up eh Hinata. Better things are coming for us and we just need to pass that stupid test tomorrow." Naruto said raising his fist.
"I hope so" Hinata said quietly.
"Not hope Hinata. Know."
"... yeah..."
Done with her noodles and having separated from Naruto, Hinata headed home although it hadn't felt like home for a long time. The complex was surrounded by a think high concrete wall with spikes on top while being surrounded by guards 24-7. People always expected the complex to look really beautiful but to her it wasn't. It was white all over with a black roof and while some might like it, she just thought it was a dreary not unlike a cemetery. Inside, cold hard wood floors forced her to wear slippers as she walked slowly. Passing a sliding door, she suddenly heard his voice.
"Where have you been?"
It was her father.
Entering the room, she sat down on her knees as she tried to maintain eye contact with him. She knew he hated it when she looked down. Her father was a tough man. His face was always in a perpetual frown and everything about him was always tidy from his long black combed hair to his snow white robe. The only thing he never seemed to make perfect was her.
"I-I-I was with my new teammates." Hinata said quietly.
"What have I told you about stuttering?" He said coldly.
"I... sorry."
"Tomorrow you will be tested by Kurenai to see if you are suitable to become a genin. Correct?"
Hinata was breathing very rapidly. "Yes father."
"Do not bring more shame to the main house. Already the branch families believe we are weak because of you."
"Yes." Hinata said finally unable to maintain eye contact now looking down at her clenched hands.
"Then you are dismissed. Continue training by yourself then."
Getting up, Hinata quickly left. She couldn't let this get her down. She had to focus on passing tomorrow. She had to.
