Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The original Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto. This fan fiction is non-canon and is NOT set in the Shinobi World but in our current modern world.

Summary:

One fateful afternoon, 17-year-old Uzumaki Naruto rescued a girl from getting raped in a downtown alley. The girl is no other than Hyuga Hinata, daughter of the owner of the Hyuga Enterprises, one of the largest and richest business companies in all of Konoha.

He grew up an orphan. She grew up with over-protective parents. He was failing high school. She excelled in her studies. Naruto and Hinata are two polar opposites, but what does destiny have in store for them?

Beginning Song: "You and Me" by Lighthouse

Ending Song: "Never Be The Same" by Red

Chapter One

How They Met

Independence.

Hyuga Hinata had always wished for it. Ever since she was born, she was surrounded by bodyguards, housekeepers and servants who did her every bidding. And her overprotective parents who insisted on enrolling her to self-defence classes ever since they decided to move her to a new high school last week.

The self-defence classes had been a waste of money. Hinata never felt like she would be a victim going in, but she sure did now.

Alone.

Walking towards the train station along the busy streets of Konoha after she had attended her first day of school at Konoha Senior High School.

"Hey, sexy." a guy whistled at her.

But she ignored him.

Stares from a couple of by-standers nearby fell on her for reasons she couldn't understand. Was something wrong with her? Why are they staring at her body like that? There was just something lascivious about the way they gazed at her.

"Where are you going, sweetheart? You seem to be in a hurry."

One of the by-standers blocked her path.

"I-I'm on m-my way t-to the train s-station." Hinata always had this quirky habit of stuttering whenever she is nervous or scared. And right now, she was feeling both.

"That's great! Me and mah' niggas are heading there too. Need a company?" another man insisted.

"N-No, thank you. I'll b-be fine on m-my own."

"Nonsense. A sexy damsel like you needs a man by her side all the time."

Three suspicious men surrounded her, like vultures waiting to strike down their prey. Her parents had taught her not to talk to strangers, but she didn't know what to do in this situation which is new to her. She has seen this type of situation in those crime scene movies, wherein an innocent woman gets cornered by men and bad things usually happen to her in the end.

"C'mon. Don't be shy." one man said.

"We'll give you a good time." the other continued as his sharp features cracked into a sadistic grin.

He grabbed her shoulder all of a sudden.

The next thing she knew, was that one of the three men had covered her mouth and forcibly dragging her body to one of the empty alleys just on the side of the streets.

NOOOO! Hinata screamed. But her cries for help were muffled by the man's meaty hands covering her mouth. Her attempts to wiggle herself out of their grasps were to no avail.

Uzumaki Naruto had just finished his shift at his part-time job at Ichiraku's Ramen Restaurant, working as a waiter. The blonde had broken his back in working for several part-time jobs every after school hours, hoping to earn a few bucks to spend for his studies. Life wasn't so good for him.

"See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun! Thanks a lot for your help." Ayame Teuchi, daughter of the owner of Ichiraku's, bid him goodbye as she stood at the cashier's post.

"No worries, Ayame-chan. Always happy to serve."

"Here, take some free ramen coupons. Don't you want to have dinner while you're still here?" she offered.

But he kindly refused. "I've got other things to take care of, sorry. But I'll be here tomorrow for my shift!"

The blonde exited the restaurant and was met by a familiar sight. Busy streets, people passing by, lights already beginning to light up the streets for the coming night. He reached out for his pockets to retrieve something.

Oh shit. My phone. Naruto remembered.

He forgot to get his cell phone out from his locker a while ago in school. Naruto was busy with basketball practice and after the training session, he proceeded to the ramen restaurant right away to do his job.

"A waste of gasoline." Naruto sighed.

As he was about to head to the parking lot to get to his car, he caught sight of something suspicious going on alongside an alley, next to the ramen restaurant.

Three shady men were holding captive a young woman who seemed to be wearing a school uniform coming from the same school as his. Naruto couldn't identify who the girl was, but something inside was telling him that she's in a very deep trouble.

"HEY! STOP!"

Naruto ran after the men who were strangling that girl with long, dark-blue hair. They were dragging her towards the deep corners of the alley, which could only mean one thing.

Those men are going to rape her.

Hands closed on her arm tightly — hot, meaty and painful as the men dragged her towards a dead end of an alley. She tried screaming, but the other hand was covering her mouth shut.

It was secluded, dark and cold. Dangerous. Hinata couldn't make out anything except for the faint light coming from one corner where the entrance of the alley was. She couldn't even see the faces of these men who abducted her with purely lustful intentions.

Loud noise coming from the cars and music from a bar right across the street didn't help at all. They suppressed her screams from getting heard instead.

"You can scream all you want, baby." A voice spoke from the darkness. "No one will hear you."

"She must be a virgin. I'll go first." another one said. She could hear him unzipping his pants.

They're going to rape me! The Hyuga thought.

Hinata panicked as sweat started to trickle down her body whilst she struggled and squirmed when the men began touching her in her most intimate parts. They ripped her clothes off, starting from her boots, her school socks, then her skirt, until they were going to take off her panties ….

But then.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" A voice came out of nowhere.

Naruto arrived on time to witness three men, tearing away the defenceless girl's clothes from her body. Their voices were sharp and cruel, he could tell. But Naruto was good when it comes to concealing his emotions. And right now, he shitless scared.

Adrenaline was his best ally as Naruto bolted towards the three men who were strangling the girl and shoved them away from her with brute force. He swung an arm to land a punch on one of the guys who tried to lunge forth him. Naruto knew how to swallow pain and hide emotions.

"I called the police! They're on their way!" Naruto shouted, his heart kicking against his ribs rapidly.

"H-He called the cops! Run!"

And the three men scampered off.

Idiots. Naruto grinned in satisfaction as he watched the rapists scrambling and running away from the scene in panic.

It was a good lie.

He then turned towards the girl and slowly crouched down in front of her to comfort her. She was shaking, pale and sweating. Her skin was colder than ice cubes inside a freezer, her lips as white as an albino trapped in a snow storm. And Naruto pitied her.

"Calm down. Just calm down, alright?" he said softly in a gentle voice.

Still, no response. Her lips were quivering and her body continued trembling.

"You're going to be fine. I won't hurt you."

Now what, genius?

Naruto scanned her from tip-to-toe. The darkness surrounding him caused him to be unable to fully see her face. But Naruto was sure that he hasn't seen her face around school before. She must be a new student.

"Here." he grabbed her skirt that fell on the cemented ground beside him and offered it to her. "Wear them. I'll look away when you get changed and make sure they don't come back."

"Th-thank you… I c-could've, c-could've…" she finally spoke. Her breathing was a rattle of air sucking into her lungs, ending on a wheeze everytime she took a breath.

"Sshh… Don't say too much. Get dressed." Naruto assured her one more time before shifting his gaze away from her to give her time to get dressed.

He's going to have to take her home.

Hinata found security and safety in the presence of this blonde boy who had just saved her life. Honestly, she thought that it would be the end of her. Three guys were on her and she was helpless. Her self-defence lessons hadn't really helped her at all.

"I'm Naruto by the way." the blonde began.

So, that's his name. The name of her hero.

"H-Hinata. N-Nice to m-meet you."

"Get in the car. I'll ride you home — I mean, I'll drop you off at your house." he added quickly.

She got into the seat beside the driver's seat. His car wasn't that classy, unlike the one's she had at the mansion. It wasn't a BMW or a Lamborghini, just an ordinary four-wheel Toyota. Hinata observed him fumble for the car keys before he managed to get the engine on.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Naruto swore.

The engine died.

"No wonder why Genma sold this piece of shit for a thousand bucks." he twisted the key once more.

And the engine finally turned on.

"Sorry for the delay."

She watched his foot step on the accelerator and the car was on its way. Naruto swung the car out of the parking lot and unto the highway, speeding up like a bank robber on the loose. The trauma left by a while ago still lingered in her mind and Hinata could feel her heart beat on the back of her tongue as she took in a deep sigh of relief.

"Th-thank you for s-saving my life."

Naruto seemed to be focused on the road. He wasn't saying anything for now. But seconds later, he finally spoke.

"Your uniform." he took a quick look at her. "Are you from my school in Konoha High? Haven't seen ya' around there before or this morning."

He didn't even bother saying You're welcome, but Hinata knew that she wasn't in the place to demand that kind of response. The guy had saved her life today. He was her hero after all.

"I'm a n-new s-student. Th-they took me on a t-tour around the campus t-today."

"That explains." Naruto replied without looking at her.

Seconds of silence followed.

"Ya' know. I didn't really call the cops."

Hinata whipped her head towards him, her eyes widened in disbelief. The way Naruto shouted at the three men about how he called the cops seemed so realistic at that time. And it was music to her ears.

"Y-You l-lied?"

"I guess those three assholes were just idiots."

She looked at the road once more and took note of how Naruto had gone past the Red Lights. He wasn't abiding the law, like a free animal untamed.

"Th-the l-lights were r-red —"

But he interrupted before she could continue.

"Where do you live?"

She forgot that she hadn't told him of her address. For a second, her mind went entirely blank. What happened a while ago gave her a momentary amnesia. Hinata had forgotten where she lived for a second.

"Hey. I asked you something." Naruto glanced at the side-mirror before shifting his gaze on her.

Naruto's eyes met hers. His cerulean-blue eyes, bluer than the bluest of oceans. Nice eyes, Hinata noticed — sharp, brave and fearless under the fringe of blond hair that fell on his forehead. Her hero was quiet handsome in all honesty and his body was definitely average. Not so muscular, not so thin. Just enough.

He smirked. "You forgot your address?"

Hinata jerked her eyes back on the road, blushing after she realised that she had been staring at him for several seconds already.

"N-No, y-you can d-drop me off th-there."

The blonde followed his eyes at the direction where she was pointing at.

"The Hyuga Enterprise building?"

"Y-Yes."

"You live there?" Naruto glanced at her quickly.

She nodded innocently.

"You're bloody joking me. You've got a sense of humour, ya' know. I like that." Naruto chuckled. She heard him laugh for the first time.

It's no use arguing. Hinata knew that no one would believe her so easily if she'd tell them that she was related to Hiashi Hyuga, the founder and CEO of the Hyuga Enterprises. Besides, why would she be in a public school for someone so rich? They might think that she's lying if she'd force them to believe her.

The car stopped in front of the towering building.

"Okay, that's fifty bucks for saving your life and another twenty bucks for the free ride."

"Y-You charge m-money?" her eyes widened at him.

"Nah, just kidding." Naruto grinned teasingly.

Hinata got out of the car and waved goodbye at the blonde guy who saved her life before entering the Hyuga building.

"B-Bye."

"Maybe I'll see ya' tomorrow. Be safe, Hinata."

For a second, she saw him shoot a cute wink at her before speeding off the road.

He winked at me. Hinata turned bright red. A lot of guys tried flirting with her before but didn't get a chance to do so because she always had her bodyguards surrounding her. And it probably intimidated them all.

And that was how they met.