I don't know whether I want this to go on for a bit longer. In my head, and on my computer, I have written a few chapters. Please let me know if you want more, 'cause otherwise I am happy just to leave this as a short story oneshot thing :)

Warning: coarse language

Her world was static – it was neither black nor white – or any color for that matter. She walked through life seeing things in an ashen dreariness, and as far as she could see, it wasn't ending. But at that moment, the boy standing over her had a smug look imprinted on his complacent face.

"What are you gonna do about it?" he sneered down at the girl. Flicking almond hair from his eyes, he looked at the face of his victim who was sniffling on the ground. Dirt was smeared over a side of her face, tracing mud across a pale canvas. "Come on Hyuga brat." The boy pushed her again, this time sending her to the ground. He smiled when he heard her body thud on the ground, but then felt angry that she didn't return to her feet. When he got tired of waiting, he pulled his leg back and kicked her in the stomach. She coughed out in pain and clutched her arm around her torso. "Is little daddy's girl waiting to be rescued? You think you're something special?" He chuckled to the other two boys who had cornered her in the woods.

Daddy's little girl? She considered a world where her father actually believed in her. The girl didn't quite realise that people only saw her as a spoilt child to one of the greater clans, and not as the disgrace she was. Her father knew she would never amount to much, and he reminded her of that daily. The pain she felt inside when she saw the repulsed look on his face, or when he told her to be gone because she was a bother to him was often unbearable.

Perhaps if her father did love her, then maybe she would not have needed to venture out on her own to enrol in the ninja academy, and maybe she would not have been jumped by the bullies. She trained vigorously, for hours on end every day, and still, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't manage to meet the expectations he had for her. You're week, his hateful words echoed around in her mind.

When a darker boy grabbed her by the hair and yanked, she squealed. It's true. I am weak. I want to fight. I want to defend myself. I want… She didn't know what she wanted. She wanted to be stronger, to be able to please her father, and the only way she thought she could do that was to prove herself as a ninja. The boy yanked again, this time so hard that he almost pulled her to her feet. "Did that sound like a question? Huh?" A growl came from deep in his throat as he threw her forward. Struggling to crawl backwards, she felt warm liquid running down her face, and she tried to wipe her tears away quickly.

The three boys tightened the circle around her, and she listened to them snicker and laugh to each other. Their looming shadows cast over her small and fragile body which was covered in muck and grass stains. She kept her palms on the floor, her eyes closed, bracing herself for them to pound and kick again.

"Oi!" Her eyes burst open hearing the new voice. The older boys turned around to face the newcomer. The girl lifted her head to see his spikey yellow hair and brilliant blue eyes. Around his neck he wore a red scarf, protecting him from the coming winter winds. The tallest boy grit his teeth viciously at the stranger while the other two took a step back, obviously wary by the new kid. "Go pick on someone your own size!" The blue-eyed boy shouted at them and started walking towards the trio of bullies.

"Get lost kid. Or you will end up like this little shit." He turns kicks the girl's leg.

One of the others grabs his arm and tugs. "It's that guy."

"That guy, huh?" He smiles and clenches his fists until the girl could hear his knuckles crack. The stranger didn't seem to understand, but the bullies knew, and so did the girl on the ground. You must stay away from him, her uncle had told her one day when she had noticed him alone on a swing. She tried to approach him somewhat understanding his loneliness, but her uncle pulled her away. Well, the girl didn't actually know the reason why the village was cautious around the particular blonde – all she knew was to follow the rules – and the rules were to avoid him.

"That guy?" She heard him mutter softly to himself. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am gonna be Hokage one day, believe it." The boy, Naruto, pointed at the trio with determination blazing in his eyes. The girl had never seen such willpower in one person and she felt a spark ignite within her grey world.

"Pff," the boy sneered while the other two shoved each other laughing. "A loser like you ain't gonna become nothing."

"Yeah, let alone someone as great as Hokage," the shorter one chipped in.

"I will. I'm absolutely gonna become the Hokage. And I'll prove you, and all the people in this village wrong." Naruto smiled. "But for now, I am gonna kick your ass."

The bully cracked his knuckles together violently and looked back at his friends who all seemed willing to help. "You should've walked away, kid. You're so dead."

The girl, still in pain, stopped crying and watched as the bullies jumped on the blue-eyed boy. Do your best, Naruto-kun. She hoped that he was strong, stronger than her at least. At least he stood up for himself. Her hopes for him disappeared quickly though as he was on the ground in seconds. The bullies were a lot older and bigger than him and though he tried to fight back, he was just no match pitted against three of them. Go and stop them. I can't. You should. But I couldn't even defend myself. The girl dropped her gaze to the ground, and considered her uselessness as she watched an ant crawl over the grass. Father is right, I am weak. She couldn't bring herself to look up and see the boy being hurt, but she couldn't manage to block out the sounds of his cries as he was being beaten either.

"Mind your own business next time!" The light brown-haired boy spat. "Let's go." The trio disappear into the woods, heading back towards the village for a midday snack.

With her hands tucked closely to her chest, she stood up and walked over to the boy on the ground. She noticed his face, tan with three whiskers on each cheek. His eyes flew open, engulfing her in ocean blue before he bolted upright, shaking a fist into the empty clearing. "You coward bastards!" He turned around to face the pale girl, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "You alright?" She nodded without saying a word, and he watched her white eyes drop to the floor. "Yeah, I should've gone a bit easier on them, ya know." For some reason, the statement made a flicker of a smile appear on the lips of the girl, and he smiled back, a cheerful grin.

A bruise was already turning purple around his eye, and blood ran in a single line down his chin. He went through all that pain, she felt like crying again. He suffered because of you. A tattered mess of red wool lay before her feet and she dropped down to pick it up, squeezing the soft fuzz between her nimble fingers.

"Oh," he grunted seeing the piece of his attire ripped and covered in dirt.

The girl presented it to the blonde-haired boy with a bow. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Ah…" He closed his eyes and smiled, but he didn't take the scarf. "Nah, you keep it." He screwed up his nose, before dusting his navy pants, sending dust into the air. The girl noticed in his pocket, a registration form, the same one that she had held in her hands before she was cornered. He is going to be a ninja too. "You're ah… the Hyuga girl right?" He scratched the back of his neck again.

The Hyuga girl. I am 'the' Hyuga girl. Why can't I just be 'a' Hyuga girl? Father says I will never be able to carry our name as head of the clan. Look on the bright side… he knows who you are. She felt her cheeks turn red, and she nodded in response. "M… my… name is… H… Hinata… H… Hyuga."

"Cool. I guess I will see you around, ya know."

"Uh-huh," the girl squeaked, tucking a loose strand of dark indigo behind rosy ears. The girl watched sincerely as he walked away.

The Hyuga heiress was surprised beyond belief. A boy, who she had only ever seen once, stood up for her knowing that he was easily outnumbered. He stood up for me, even though he didn't know me… a total stranger… a complete no one.

Her world was grey, that fact was true; but in that moment, nothing else mattered - not her father, or her honour, or even the clan. No, in that moment, the sun seemed to shine brighter than ever before.

So yeah, this is another fic that I wanted to do after my first went pretty good.

I didn't get a chance to thank all of the people who review, and faved, and liked and subscribed... and all that jazz. So thank you so much. It really meant a lot to me to see so many people reading my crappy work. :) Don't stop :P