Set in a High-school Au.
A confident laugh breaks through Konoha Gakuen Class 3-A and seventeen year old Hyuuga Hinata fidgets, fingers pressing against each other. Her head bows lower though her pale lavender orbs flicker to the left, towards the end of her row.
"So what say you Uzumaki-kun? You free to date me this week," A bright haired girl queries with a flirtatious wink.
She stands before Uzumaki Naruto-kun, arms slammed against his desk and posture arrogant
Uzumaki-kun, with his shining azure eyes manages a smile, though it looks parts strained to Hinata's keen eyes.
"Bes' believe it!" He shouts, with wide, exaggerated movement to create a thumbs up.
Hinata sighs softly, feeling her hope dampen that small bit further as she begins chewing on her lip. Her best-friend Inuzuka Kiba notices her anxiety and moves from his chair, getting his bento and lifting some chopsticks with pickled cucumber to her mouth, a crooked grin on his lips. A dark red blush envelops her face as her lips part to consume his sister's delicious cooking. A few teens whisper disapprovingly, but having been criticised for being of mixed descent his whole life, Kiba pays no regard to them.
Behind them, their best-friend Aburame Shino moves his chair closer to Hinata's table and sings the gentle tune to his newest creation.
Smiling brightly, Hinata thinks of how much she loves her best-friends and can't thank Kurenai-sensei enough for the gardening club she created that brought them together all those years ago as children.
Hinata began to like Uzumaki-kun when he was five and she just shy of her fifth birthday.
As she was walking home with her very pregnant mother, a flower she had pressed for her father had flipped in the wind and gotten lost in the crowd and snow. Hinata, adamant on giving her father that specific flower pressing, which she had spent all the school week perfecting, ran after the card thoughtlessly.
Uzumaki-kun had spotted her searching through the snow, recognising her as his classmate. Despite wearing only some sandals, shorts and a thin, baggy top, he insisted on looking with her. His cheery disposition gave her hope and she hesitantly agreed to his help, perhaps looking at his thick green goggles a little too skeptically.
They searched for ten minutes before they found the thin card, buried between a street pole and some inches of thick snow. Awkwardly giving each other a glance, they both realised suddenly that they had no idea where they were, so they stood around each other for another ten following, pacing half-heartedly to where Uzumaki-kun insisted was the more familiar surroundings of their town.
Through the duration of their walk, Hinata had bit her lip and played brave, though she was obviously scared, wondering where her mother was. Uzumaki-kun, noting her discomfort had managed to weave a fantastic story about giant frogs and ninjas and she'd felt a lot less lonely with him there.
When her mother found them, she insisted on taking Uzumaki-kun home and Hinata had forced her mother's much too large scarf on him.
When he'd thanked her sheepishly, a blush consumed her face and she'd finally realised she had gotten her first crush.
Hinata giggles softly as her and the boys head to Ichiraku, it was nearing 10pm Sunday and Ichiraku was the only stall they frequent and knew were still open at this time. They have school tomorrow, however Shino had scored his first regular gig at the Forest of Death, a wild nightclub scene that Anko-sensei had shares in.
Between her and Shino, Kiba continues his grandeur gestures as he recounts his fight with his sister's latest boyfriend.
To the left Shino mutters insults under his breath, barely caught in the still alive night-life of Konoha. Hinata feels happiness engulfs her as they stroll into the stall the were seeking out. Things had been strangely fleeting as of late, with it being their final year at school, she couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the idea that they'd have to split up.
"Hey, hope you guys have had a goodnight," Ayame-san greets as they enter.
In synch they reply positively, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
All of Hinata's steadily built contention however, fades as she gazes at the scene before her. Uzumaki-kun and his latest girlfriend. It shouldn't surprise her, Uzumaki-kun worked here after all, however part of her still hoped he wouldn't be in.
" 'm sorry, guess I couldn't find love wid'cha," Uzumaki-kun apologises.
Shino orders for them as they sit at a table some ways away from Uzumaki-kun and Tayuya-san, the girlfriend of the week.
Uzumaki-kun's face shows true regret at his word, another pain to Hinata's heart as she wonders why Uzumaki-kun agrees to these events when they hurt him so much so.
Tayuya-san gives him a fleeting smirk.
"It's fine cutie, I understand the rules," She said, leaning to place a chaste kiss against his tan cheek.
Hinata said nothing of the ordeal, and continues to say nothing even as Uzumaki-kun caught sight of them and the ever-polite, if silent Shino offers him a chair. Still dressed in his work garbs, he languidly sits in the chair near them and offers a bright smile, mentioning in passing that he's just clocked off.
Kiba rolls his eyes at the blond and Hinata pushes her feelings down, attempting to let her happiness with her friends rule over. It won out eventually, somewhere between Uzumaki-kun snorting accidentally whilst inhaling his sixth bowl of ramen and Shino attempting to state his displeasure at the idea of paying for dinner.
Hinata fell for Uzumaki-kun when he was five.
The rest of her generation were 13 before they caught on to how wonderful he was, and even then it wasn't right.
She fell for his kindness, for his bright smiles and the way he tended the flowers Iruka-sensei planted when he thought no one was looking. How his hands were warm, how he still had her mother's long, pale red scarf. How his japanese was rough, yet endearing in the same sense, so much more real than the proper, polite form her father taught her.
The other girls fell in love with his cheeky grins, his mischief filled gaze and how he started his growth spurt, muscles beginning to develop. They fell in love with the idea of being with 'The Amazing Naruto-kun', best friend to the brooding Uchiha Sasuke-san and the super popular, extraordinarily smart Haruno Sakura-san.
She hated how, despite everyone that teased him for being a failing student, he was very aware of why people claimed to love him.
She hated how he embraced their twisted version of love, but was still oblivious and unaccepting to the like she possessed for him. Eventually he accepted the so-called love so much so, that a rumour turned truth occurred. On the Monday of every week, the first girl to confess to Uzumaki-kun got to date him until he told them he didn't fall in love with them.
The attempts began as hopeful, him wooing the girls, but steadily they rejected his kind heart. His smile dampened, turned a touch less genuine with every failed relationship and Hinata yearned to confess to him, to tell him that she could one day love him like they failed to do so; however, Hinata knew firmly he couldn't love her.
So instead she stood in the shadows, that awkward girl from school. Instead Hinata watched Uzumaki-kun date many, each date feeling like a blade through her torso and a tear in his happiness.
At school, Hinata does her best to avoid Uzumaki-kun in class. It works because he's usually late and they rarely talk anyway. Doing this for twelve years is how she's avoided confessing to him. It's also how she's avoided bonding with him.
However today her and Uzumaki-kun were the only ones left on clean-up duty, Shino and Kiba had skipped early, after helping with the sweeping and rubbish clean up. They'd invited her, though she suspected it was more of a courtesy invite and she couldn't bare bailing out and leaving Naruto alone. Haruno-san and Yamanaka-san were in a surprise student council meeting, so they left ten minutes into cleaning.
She quietly organises the desks while Uzumaki-kun pretends to clean the chalk-dusters, though she was very aware he was goofing off.
"Ne, Hinata-chan whaddya do if a dinosaur tried t'make us his human puppets?" Uzumaki-kun questions.
Hinata very carefully does not show her fright at the rather strange, boisterous question and is silent, pondering how to answer such a random question.
"Is there a specific reason he's enslaving us into human puppetry?" Her voice is still barely above a whisper, but practice and friendship had vanquished her childhood stutter.
He hmms, brow raising slightly. Hinata accurately assumes it is because most people wouldn't deign him with a serious answer.
"He's jealous o' humans, since he's the only one a his kind left, so I dunno, he's like, compensatin' or sumthin'."
Hinata stops what she's doing, obviously as tired as Uzumaki-kun and unwilling to let their first, decent conversation in years just disappear.
"I'm not sure, but if I could I'd let someone do the hard work of bringing him down, then I'd make a big bowl of dinosaur soup," she nods her head at the outrageous exclamation, mentally thanking Shino for helping her talking skills, by dragging her and Kiba to all of his gigs since they were 13.
Uzumaki-kun chuckles, sitting atop of Kakashi-sensei's small, yet tall desk. Hinata giggles at the sight of Uzumaki-kun, almost spilling from the podium, legs not even touching the ground.
"Not gonna fight ya self!? Shame, always thought ya Hyuga's were tough," he voices louder and more carefree than before.
Vaguely Hinata thanks Sui-san, a performer from Mizugakure, who fine-tuned her speaking skills during one too many run-ins the past two years.
"I'd be too busy shooing away his marriage proposal to fight, plus, can't get my hands bloody, hard to become a solicitor if they are," she voices lightly, humour tinging her voice, though her mind is still flooded with anxiety.
She steadies her breath and waits for a reply, putting the last chair into correct placing and standing before Uzumaki-kun, fingers looped behind her back. The anxiety is still alive and well, despite her calm facade.
Uzumaki-kun snorts at her genuinely, his smile less strained than she had seen in a long while, "Too right Hinata-chan, 'm sure guys fall t' yer every whim."
It is said good-naturedly, so she pulls a tight smile on her face, even as she feels a slight pang of sadness at the very untrue statement.
"Did'ya wanna get sumthin' t' eat after this?" He queries, smile still bright.
Hinata hesitates, smiling softly as she nods and murmurs, "That would be nice."
As the days pass by slowly, Hinata resents that she had ever agreed to that first dinner with Naruto-kun. It was an amazing night and Naruto-kun had declared them fast friends.
Their friendship begins tentatively. He walks her home if Kiba and Shino are busy, which generally they're not, so he also takes to just walking home with them when Haruno-san and Uchiha-san were busy, which generally they were.
They send each other random text messages and Naruto-kun manages to make weirder scenarios each time.
From NaruUzumaki
What if a talking slug offered you immortality for the price of a can of special-edition cinna-coffee?
From HyugaHinaaa
I'd politely decline, I'd hate living forever! Plus I ❤⃛ヾ(◕‿◕)cinna-coffee! (・_・)ノYou know that.
From NaruUzumaki
Would you give up your favourite food forever for world peace?
From HyugaHinaaa
But couldn't I give up my three least favourite instead? (*)ゞ(ノ゚^゚)ノ・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・*
Plus, what does World Peace really signify?
From NaruUzumaki
No that's not how it goes (-_-;)・・And hell if I know, I guess everyone's just happy and safe.
From HyugaHinaaa
Give it up for a year? Q( `´Q) Also, how unexpectedly eloquent of you Naruto-kun. (o¬‿¬o )
From NaruUzumaki
Five years (-‸ლ) and you use way too many emojis
From HyugaHinaaa
Three years! (*^‿^*) (*/u\*)And you skip too many classes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sometimes there's weekend hangouts, when Naruto-kun doesn't have any dates or he has time off work. Naruto-kun comes to some of Shino's gigs, because even with this new found friendship Hinata hasn't missed a single gig. Nearly everyday after school they stop at the biggest library in town, because Naruto couldn't afford to eat everyday after school and Hinata appreciates the excuse to hang out. Since being friends with her, his grades have gone up 20 or so points. She also walks him to work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and visits on her free Saturdays.
Kiba teases her mercilessly and both he and Shino mysteriously disappear during group hang outs. Hinata's unsure whether it's a shove for her and Naruto to get together, or an excuse for privacy for them two. Conscious of Naruto not knowing about them, she says nothing about it to him, though she pouts and whines when it's only them three together. She loves how angry they make her, how special her friendships are to her.
It makes everything feel ten times better, because Naruto-kun is more amazing and hilarious and selfless than she ever knew. But it's also ten time worse, because now it's ten times easier to see he's so far out of her league.
"Hinata-chan! Green carrot or purple strawberries?" Naruto-kun questions from her right.
Kiba sighs as he tends to Akamaru, hiding between the shrubs in the garden like always. Shino sprays his all natural, harmless pesticides he'd been trying to create on some sunflowers in the corner of her view. So far none of his sprays had managed to do more than make the plants wet, sticky and slightly annoying for the bugs he was trying conscientiously save, but if he was going to major in entomology he wasn't going to let these small roadblocks affect him. Neither are surprised at Naruto-kun's increasingly random questions or his unnecessary presence, now-a-days he was an almost natural extension to their family-like friendship.
"Purple strawberries, I think they'd have a more interesting flavour," she answers as she digs her gloved fingers through the soil to pull out weeds.
Naruto-kun, she can feel more than see, nods from behind her, eyes probably still glued to the compost they were making. He had a knack for plants, though he hadn't dare tend to one along with them. He probably thought they'd judge him for being an able gardiner. A stupid notion in itself, but who was she to talk about confessions?
The group were all on the roof, dressed in too big, raggedy tops and pants Kiba had found, with thick gloves and tools courtesy of Shino scattered about them.
Kiba again rolls his eyes and with a smirk, turns to look at Shino. He indicates that Shino walk behind him and though usually polite and logical, Shino had a hidden mischief inside of him that his best-friends knew about all too well.
Sneaking to the hose, Kiba swiftly faces it towards Hinata and Naruto-kun. It's alive in seconds and he howls with laughter, Akamaru barking enthusiastically as Hinata shrieks and attempts to use Naruto-kun as a shield from the cold spray of water.
Naruto-kun laughs heartily, unmoving as he forces Hinata before him to take the brunt force of gushing water. Water soaks her large grey top and baggy khaki shorts, but her face gleams nevertheless.
"Aiish, Kiba turn it off," Hinata tries to shout, but a fit of giggles interrupt her.
Almost complying, the water stops, however Kiba looks at it with confusion and dread. Hinata advances as Kiba hits the hose violently, nozzle faced towards him in desperation and Naruto-kun falls to the ground in laughter, eyes trained behind Kiba.
An innocent whistle fills the air as Shino takes his foot off of the garden hose, the water hitting Kiba smack bam in the face. Hinata dies of giggles and Naruto-kun watches her, unsure of why his heart feels lighter the brighter her smile becomes.
Naruto-kun had bought his latest date, Karui-san, with him to Shino's gig in Suna. Shino had placed first in a regional music composition competition and Karui-san, girlfriend of the week thought it unfair that two of her days with Naruto-kun were taken because they were travelling to watch the National comps.
Hinata tries to push away the awful jealousy that creeped into her heart for Shino's sake, though she was far more withdrawn than usual, something Naruto-kun had noticed on their car trip down. Hinata tries to be polite, though the frigidity of her interaction with Naruto-kun and Karui-san was evident to those who knew of her feelings.
She hates how petty she's being, her father would disapprove of her attitude. Karui-san is a nice girl, she's fun to run with during P.E as they give heated and competitive glance to one another. The only other girl who could keep their pace was Haruno-san, who didn't like running in the first place.
The trip is awesome, Uchiha-san manages to get the older Uchiha-san, his cousin, to drive him down the day Shino performs. More for Naruto-kun's sake than Shino's. Just the same they'd agree to drive him back to Konoha.
The concert is huge, the stadium constantly switching between roars and stunned silences, phones out at all angles to video everything.
Per usual, Shino is a careful, precise monster on stage. He tears through the notes leaving a chill in the air, but all the same she feels nothing but proud. Proud for her best friend and all his achievements.
Shino's fingers move like magic against the keys of the piano, him adjusting the notes effortlessly. With not even a change in beat he lets the note hang in the air. A brush of his foot confirms the recorder replaying the final notes as he changes instruments. The electric guitar loudly riffs through the air as the tempo quickens. If he could, Shino would add as many instruments as possible, a drum kit, a flute, a sax and a cello. He loved instruments, but the recorder can only do so much so he's limited himself to two instruments. Even so she can feel the happiness and heart in throat joy at the composition.
The song is loud and violent, yet somehow happy. Uniquely Shino in its inability to be anything but unique.
Shino's always managed to say far more in music than in words, this certain piece Hinata dubbed 'Blueberry Cream Dreams' because she had been hungry for blueberries the day he'd first rehearsed this in front of her. Kiba was lucky enough to had heard it a week before during their private 'hangouts.' She would come up with better, actual names, but Shino much preferred his Untitled 1-31, so she always dubbed them ridiculous names.
(Fun Fact: The more days it took for him to show her after Kiba, the more ridiculous the name. Hence 'Backwards Bugs Dreadful Dogs, Snakes And Friends Who Lie Horribly' or 'Untitled 19', the song he produced when him and Kiba became him and Kiba. It had taken the duo three weeks to tell her, though she had known approximately a week before either of them how they felt about one another.)
Kiba claps with her as he finishes, both of them whopping louder than anyone else, ecstatic of how far Shino's come since his first recital to them when he was 8 and too shy to finish the whole song. Her heart sings because she never thought she could love someone as much as she did her family, but her best friends are two people who she wouldn't ever give up.
The bright, gleaming smile falling on her face is a testament to that love, and she sways to Shino's music, hips alluring in her baggy white boyfriend jeans and her too long, somewhat tight grey top. Light flashes around her, because the competition is strictly for youth and the vibe is more relaxed than she could ever have hoped for.
To her side Kiba is equally as loose, grinning at her softly like he only ever grins to her and Shino.
Moving unconsciously, the two hold hands and dance as if it's just her, Shino and Kiba in his room. There's something comforting about having her two boys so close to her heart.
Shino can't see them in the crowd, but hearing Kiba's hoots and Hinata's screams, he shreds the stage, a stunned and appreciative silence taking over the stadium.
Kiba and Hinata don't quiet down too much, even then.
The whole night, Naruto-kun watches her, feeling a sense of sadness as she ignores him. He doesn't understand why. Nor does he understand his sudden, biting anger at Kiba. Karui watches him watch her and rolls her eyes, taking his hands to remind him who he was with for the week.
No one has ever accused Karui of being selfless.
That night, with the high of the performance behind them and the injustice of Shino placing third, they jump into Hyuuga Neji's large pickup truck loudly. Kiba in shot-gun, Uchiha-san across from Shino and her, Karui-san and Naruto-kun squished in back.
Karui-san is quick to fall asleep and before long, Kiba joins in snoring, Shino having hushed conversations with Neji-nii and Uchiha-san glancing down at his phone.
Naruto-kun makes a rude gesture at Uchiha-san, who cannot see him and Hinata's eyes widen, a blush threatening her face. They laugh quietly, sharing silly faces and mouthing inside jokes. Hinata's laugh tainted with a tone of disbelief, eyes incredibly wide and awake in spite of their 6AM wake up call that morning.
Their small tumble of laughter shake their bodies, and in turn, Karui-san's. Karui-san falls to her shoulder and Naruto-kun is seconds away from moving her, having concluded incorrectly that Hinata held something against Karui-san. Hinata shakes her head softly, smiling at Naruto over Karui-san's bright red hair and Naruto smiles a gentle, unfamiliar, wonderful smile back. It's beautiful.
Hinata realises abruptly she is too far in-like, that she's fallen so deep she might reach love. May already be there.
The thought terrifies her as well as fills her with a naive sense of hope.
It's one day as they're dying of laughter on the roof months after that one night made them fast friends that Hinata confesses to her feelings. Naruto-kun with spilt milk down his chest and her with a half-eaten onigiri in her trembling hands. The joke she'd made is long since forgotten, but the humor still stains the air.
She watches as he leans into her, hands clenched around his stomach and smile brighter than the stars. Their shoulders bump together and she feels. Feels that glimmer of appreciation and happiness enter her and quiets down considerably, warmth pooling in her body, spreading to her fingertips.
It's unconsciously that Hinata murmurs, "I think I'm in love with you," to him.
He catches her in the steadying silence, turning to face her fully as his arms fell to his side and his face crumples.
The laughter stills.
"Wha…?" He asks, uncharacteristically quiet.
Steeling herself, Hinata takes a breath, opens her mouth and says in a stronger tone, "I think I love you."
If she doesn't say it now, she'll never say it again.
He gulps, fingers running through his hair aggressively.
Hinata needs to say something, anything but she can feel her anxiety pool inside her, the idea of rejection frightening her dearly. Even as she speaks it is quiet.
"I need you to know that I have feelings for you and I hope so badly you will accept them."
She bows, face red at these words, gaze locking onto the floor.
"I- I can't accept your feelings," he says overly polite and careful with his tone, eyes sad, before fleeing.
Something inside of Hinata breaks in that moment. She doesn't know why it hurts, Naruto-kun was never hers to claim. Naruto-kun was never hers to love and it would be selfish to force him to date her like so many other girls had done. But she thinks she does loves him, maybe madly or truly and definitely hopelessly.
All around Hinata she feels the embarrassment and shame consume her, she drops to her knees in something like despair, something like shattered hope.
Almost mockingly, she hears that sly voice in her head, reminding her that it was inevitable. Naruto-kun would never love her like that. The thought is cold comfort.
Hey, thank you for reading!
You might know this, you might not but Gakuen translates somewhat into like Academy or School.
So... I'm starting to get back into Naruto...ish. Admittedly this story was inspired by the BL movie of the same title, albeit very loosely. Either way, this story isn't finished and I 100% intend to finish it. If I can, within the next year lol. I just need the words to actually make sense.
Also NaruHina isn't really my favourite pairing, hasn't been for years but I'm trying to get back on board. In my own, twisted way. So there's heavy NaruHina hints in the story. There's also:
Team 8 being close as family bc I can. Hints at (blatant rlly) Shino x Kiba. Kiba being half-foreign, in the fact his dad's not from Konoha.
Weird with emotions Naruto. Player/Oblivious Naruto. (But like not purposely cruel obviously) Naruto having a green thumb and being an orphan/adopted child.
Canonically!Low-self-esteemHinata. Weird with emotions Hinata as well. Slight Suigetsu and Hinata friendship for literally no reason except I could.
Anyway see you next time, when we get an insight into Naruto's life!
