Disclaimer: Since this is fanfiction, and one that has nothing to do with their ninja abilities whatsoever, would it technically be a copyright infringment? I mean, they could just coincidentaly have the same names and features as Kishimoto's characters, but not them at all. But in all seriousness, I don't claim to own any of the Naruto characters, it was just a passing thought. :)
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1958 chev impala. Black, chrome, hardtop, leather interior.
Call for details. Ask for Naruto.
xxx
Hinata stared down at the clip of newsprint between her fingers, it was all she ever had done since calling the number listed right after spotting the ad in the classic cars section and setting up a time to actually see the vehicle up close. It was somewhere between the lines of being overly excited, and completely nauseous. Most likely from being so excited.
It was still hard to believe really. That someone would voluntarily put up for sale, a 1958 Chevy Impala with chrome finishing, and leather interior. Even out dated, and run down, everyone kept classic cars to themselves. Only traders and marketeers let such pieces of art work out of their hands, and even then, it's a bit of a struggle to see such masterpieces leave their sight.
That bit of knowledge itself made Hinata a little dubious on the whole thing. Here she was, willing to go out into the world, into unfamiliar territory, alone, in order to inspect a car that she knew from experience that almost no one ever wanted to let go of. Maybe it was a set-up? Lure in an unsuspecting girl and kidnap her, maybe even sell her off to some sort of slave trade? Maybe... But then again, when she called, the voice on the other end did seem genuinely surprised that she had called, even told her that he wasn't expecting a girl to come asking about it. Which actually ticked her off a little. What, a girl can't take an interest in classic cars? Sexist man, always had to deal with them.
She sighed and leaned deeper into her bus seat. It's was like auto shop all over again. The first week of that was hell, constant questions on whether or not she would like to switch electives, if she could handle the machinery, if any of it would confuse her. Total bullshit. She knew enough at the beginning to get her through, learned even more afterwards, and soon enough surpassed every male there. She was at top of the class, even if she couldn't technically drive an actual car anyway.
The last thought made her laugh out loud, earning some looks from other passengers.
'Technically, can't drive,' she thought and breathed in for air. 'If only you didn't have to put up with so much to get the license, and then follow the "Rules of the Road", and get pulled over by cops because it's like it doesn't matter what we do, we always get pulled over, and then be on everyone's beck and call for a ride, not to mention the gas price and the insurance rate going up... Yeah, if I didn't have to put up with any of that, I'd totally drive legally.
'The again,' she continued to think. 'I did tell Neji that I would get the liscence and the baggage it comes with if I got my ideal car. He must not want me to be dependent on him all the time if he even offered to help out with payments and what not.'
She rolled her eyes. 'Whatever.'
Her mind stayed quiet for the next few stops, slightly annoyed that the bus would halt at one stop, drive for three more minutes and then halt again so that someone could get on or off. It was the ones that got off that drove her crazy. Who puts a bus stop that is literally on one end of the block and then another at the other end anyway? And why not just get off at the first? It's like a three minute longer walk.
Hinata growled slightly and rested her head against the window.
'Come to think of it,' her mind wandered again. 'A '58 Chevy's not my ideal car. Well, it is, but it wouldn't be my first choice...'
She decided not to go down that path of thought anymore, lest she start to get a bit teary-eyed. Instead she closed her eyes and figured that the since her stop would be at a main street, an announcement from the all knowing bi-lingual robotic voice that accompanied the newer buses would alert her if she were to fall asleep.
xx
Hinata grumbled to herself the whole time while walking back from where the bus had left her off. She had fallen asleep, and the bi-lingual robotic voice had announced the upcoming street and the stop she was supposed to get off, even though it had, she still didn't wake up in time to get off at her stop and ended up some ten blocks away from where she was supposed to be.
'I should've asked someone nearby to wake me up,' she thought and sighed at the same time. 'Whatever.'
While walking, she stripped herself of her jacket and tied it around her waist. She was already beginning to miss the cold weather that was present that morning and replaced with an agonizing heat. It was October already, why wasn't it cold full time? Then again, living where it's ninety degrees on Christmas day, it was only to be expected that it wouldn't be a real Fall. Just like there wouldn't be a real Winter.
In any case, she trudged uphill, instantly wishing that she had worn her Chucks instead of her boots. It would've made the journey a lot easier since the other pair were so much lighter. But then, it wasn't as though she had anticipated missing her stop either.
'It's worth it,' she said to herself while climbing the perilous hill. 'It's so worth it. It's so worth it. It's so worth. It's- Ah, even I'm getting tired of repeating it in my head.'
When Hinata finally made it to the top of the hill, she looked at the surrounding around her, tyring to find something that would tell her where she was. After finding a cleverly hidden street sign, she pulled out the Map Quest directions from her bag and began to study them. After some deliberations, she made her way up one street and continued on her expedition over the rainbow and towards her prize at the end.
xx
What should have been a thirty minute drive, took an hour by bus, and with the added walking time, it went almost past two. By the time she reached the right street the house she was looking for was located on, Hinata was tired, sweaty, and a little bit hungry.
She looked behind herself momentarily. "I've come too far," she decided and started counting the house numbers.
Hinata walked down the end of the long block and discovered the the house was located at the very end of it. It was rather normal looking, just another average suburban home. She made her way up the steps leading up to the porch and rang the doorbell. She heard a small crash, almost like someone had dropped a glass which was then followed by some choice swears said loud enough that she could hear them clearly enough. Her eyebrows rose, questioning whether or not it was still a good idea to come all this way.
'It'll be worth it,' she told herself. 'It'll be worth it.'
A few moments later, the front door was open, revealing a boy about her age with blonde hair behind the screen door.
"Are you the one who called about the car?" he asked.
She nodded. "That's me."
"Awesome," the other commented and pushed the screen door open, causing Hinata to back up a little. "Naruto Uzumaki," he introduced while extending his hand.
"Hinata Hyuuga," she responded and clasped his hand with her own.
"Nice to meet ya," Naruto said.
"Same here," she returned rather hastily. "So, where's the car?"
Naruto laughed. "Anxious are we?"
"Ecstatic," she replied with a smile.
"Well, come on," Naruto said and walked out onto the porch, letting the screen door slam shut. "I'll show you where it is."
He jumped the steps, and walked off for the garage that was off to the side with Hinata following behind him. She positioned herself on the driveway, and watched as the blonde boy lifted the garage door open. Hinata's heart started pounding from the anticipation, even more so when she saw what it was that lay beyond.
"Oh, my God," she muttered and stepped closer, ignoring the newer looking El Camino on the other side of the garage. "Rounded tail fins, dual headlamps, triple taillight clusters, a hardtop, and stainless chrome finishing with pure black bodywork... It's more gorgeous then I remember."
She turned to him. "Can I see the engine?"
"Sure," he told her and approached the hood.
Hinata smiled broadly at the sight of him lifting it up and motioning for her to take a gander.
"It looks brand new," she commented. "You weren't kidding when you said working condition."
"I would hope not. I rebuilt this beauty myself," he gloated.
Hinata looked at him incredulously. "That's amazing. I only know... well, one other person that could do that, but he's a mechanic so, yeah."
"Yeah, but I'm awesome, so it's not big deal."
Hinata rolled her eyes slightly at his boasting, but paid no real mind to it. Instead she focused solely on the construction of the 348 cubic inches of V-8 engine with wedge type combustion chambers.
"Are those two barrel carburetors?" she questioned him.
"Yeah," he answered and gestured to them, even though at this point he pretty much guessed that she knew what it was she was asking about.
"What about the brakes?" she asked.
"Newly installed."
"So awesome..." she muttered and trailed off, completely mesmerized by all of it. She came back to her senses though and stood straight. "Why are you selling this? You obviously put a lot of effort into it."
Naruto shrugged. "I have my reasons," he said simply.
Hinata didn't bother to push the subject any further. She only had one thought in mind.
"And the price you mentioned over the phone," she began, "that's really what you're asking for?"
"Yeah," he answered. "I mean, I know it's less then what it's worth, but I figure that if it was too high then no one would come calling."
"I'm pretty sure you would have more takers if you put the price in the ad," she pointed out.
"Yeah, but did you know that they charge numbers as letters?" Naruto asked her. "I had to cut out a lot of the original ad to tell you the truth."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah. But anyway, do you have anymore questions about it?"
"Only one," she said. "Can I turn the engine on?"
He reached into his jean pockets and pulled out a set of keys, finding the right one. "Go for it."
Hinata reached for them, unable to believe that she was given such an opportunity. She clutched them to her chest and went for the driver's door. She opened it and sat herself quite comfortably in the seat. She stuck the key into the ignition and turned the key. She practically squealed at the sound of it starting up.
"I love it!" she exclaimed after some minutes of letting it go.
She twisted the key back and pulled it out of it's holding, and got out, carefully closing the door. She approached Naruto and handed them back again, to which he put them back.
"I love it," she repeated.
"I could tell," he said, smiling through the response.
"I know," she laughed. "I don't bother to hide how much I love all of this."
"I gotta admit," he started. "It's kind of weird that a girl would get excited over a car. Well, like this anyway."
Hinata rolled her eyes again. "I know, I've heard it for most of my life. Had to put up with so much in school because of it." She shrugged. "Oh well, I proved them all wrong in the end. Or at least I like to think so. Whatever, it doesn't matter."
"Well, it's not like it's totally weird," Naruto tried to say again. "It's just that, well you know how a lot of girls are now. I mean, I know all girls don't worry about stupid kind of stuff, but it's not like you see a lot of them with interest like cars anymore. Even the ones at car shows."
"I know," she jumped on the subject. "I go to a lot of those, and someone always asks if I'm there with my boyfriend. Gets me mad."
"I'm sure you're boyfriend understands though, right?"
"Oh no, I don't have one," she said.
"You don't? Why?"
She shrugged. "Never found one interesting enough. All the boys I'm surrounded by are either gay or just stupid."
"Is that right?"
Hinata nodded. "Yeah, but whatever. As long as I have this," She patted the hood of the '58, "I'll be the happiest girl in the world."
Her smile faltered somewhat. "Well, almost," she confessed. "If I could get my hands on a '69 Impala, then I'd be the happiest girl in the world."
"A '69?" Naruto asked. "Hm..." he closed his eyes and looked like he was in some pretty deep thought.
"What is it?" she asked, noticing the contemplation on his face.
"What if I were to tell you that I had a '69 Impala?" he asked her. "Right here, right in the back?"
"Are you kidding?" she joked. "I would love you forever if you had one of those."
Naruto quirked his eyebrow. "Really, now..."
"Sure," she shrugged. "Why not?"
The blonde stood up from his leaning position and started for chain-linked door leading into the back yard. "Follow me then."
Hinata looked after him and went after without thinking twice about it. The pair went through the portal and approached a mighty big worn out looking shed.
"I can't keep it in the garage," he explained while tackling the lock around the handles. "What with the two I have out there, and my roommate's, he'd get all pissy about it, so I was like whatever, and put it back here. I don't drive it anyway, so it's not like it's a bother."
Naruto tore the lock away and the chains fell to the ground without any assistance. Pocketing the object, he yanked both of the double doors open, letting the outside light into the structure while he propped them open. While he did all this Hinata went wide-eyed, even dropped her bag to the floor and rushed in. There, in the very center of it all, by itself, was the car that she dreamt of constantly. The one that was more important to her then the '58, which was the one that she wanted to possess since classic cards were first introduced to her as a child. There it was, a '69 Impala, even in the same rustic maroon that she had seen in her earlier years, still shiny, still new, never aged.
"Oh my God," she whispered and place her hands on the hood. It literally took all of her will power to keep herself from throwing herself on it. "I never thought I would see another one this close again. And it's pracitcally the same too. It even has the spiral hubcaps."
She ran over to the passenger side and looked into the window.
"Dark brown interior, light brown carpeting," she continued to list and open the door without any permission. "It even smells like smoke."
She closed the car back up carefully and gave it as much as a hug as she could, settling her head on the hard top.
"I'll take it!" she declared, squeezing her eyes shut in the process.
"It's not for sale."
The voice of the only other occupant brought her back to her senses. She opened her eyes again and moved away from the vehicle. She had a small tint of pink run across her face as she laughed a bit bashfully.
"Sorry," she said. "I kinda forgot where I was." She then turned her head and made a small pout. "Though it still kind of sucks that I can't get it."
Naruto laughed and approached her. "Why would you want a car like this? It's a classic yeah, but not as recognizable as the ones from '65 and back."
Hinata turned to look at him and said quiet seriously. "It means a lot to me. This car, well, not specifically this car, but a car of the same make and same color..." She paused, not sure if she should gt too involved with telling a complete stranger something so personal. "I use to know someone, who had one, and.. yeah."
She turned her head away, fully aware that they way she ended her story was more than just lame and didn't explain anything really. Still, she wasn't about to admit what she was pretty sure the two of them already know.
"Oh," was all the blonde boy said. "Okay.. It's still not for sale though."
Hinata shook her head. "I didn't expect you to put it up," she said through a smile. "Anyway, I saw what I came here for, and I'm really glad I did."
"You want to buy it then?" Naruto asked.
"I do," she told him. "And I can pay the price we talked about over the phone the other day in cash, right now."
She went back over to pick up her fallen bag and search through the contents. Naruto watched as her search began to grow more frantic, already knowing where this was going to lead to.
'Where the hell is my wallet!' Hinata yelled in her mind. Eventually she just turned over the purse and dumped everything out right there. Still, with everything splayed out, her wallet was no where to be seen.
She took a deep breath and thought back to earlier in the day. 'Okay, I got up, saw that I had to go out today, took a shower, got dressed. Made sure the money was in the wallet, put it on the desk, went to get the bag, then the phone rang. Answered the phone, hung up, grabbed the bag, grabbed the keys, put on my shoes, and took the bus pass from the end table near the door, then walked to the bus stop.'
She felt her hands clench.
"Why?!" she cried out and covered her face with her hands. Once her composure was regained she looked back at Naruto. "I forgot my wallet."
"I kinda figured that out already," he told her while coming over to her spot, bending down to help her with picking up everything that she had more or less thrown everywhere.
"I'm sorry," she apologized and sat down on her knees so that she could do some of the cleaning herself. "I should've double-checked, I never do."
"If you never do, then how would you remember to that for today?" Naruto pointed out.
Hinata couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You're right," she sighed and took everything that he had gathered from his hands. "Thanks."
Naruto retracted his hands from her quickly and muttered a somewhat inaudible reply to her thanks. Hinata took no notice to the sudden strangeness of behavior, being too preoccupied with shoving her belongings back where they came from. She stood up not too long afterwards, brushing off dirt and grass that had made itself on her skirt for the short time that she sat.
"You have some grass in your fishnets," Naruto told her, then instantly wished he hadn't lest it made him sound like he checking out her legs like some kind of pervert.
Not that Hinata heard it that way anyway. The girl made some kind of small sound of acknowledgment and plucked the vegetation from the stockings. While she did that Nauto stood up straight himself, trying to calm himself from being so paranoid.
"I'm sorry," she said again. "I completely wasted your time."
"Nah, it's no problem," he reassured her. "Why don't you come by tomorrow?"
Hinata laughed slightly. "If I come back tomorrow, it'd just be my luck to find that you already sold it. Nah, I learned that if you mess up on one deal, you don't get another chance. Not when it comes to these cars."
"I won't sell it," Naruto said to her. "You can have it, so don't worry about it."
"Uh huh. And how am I supposed to believe that?"
"Because I promise."
She gave him a look that clearly spelt out her doubt on such a thing.
"I pinky promise?" he asked while extending his right pinky.
Hinata smiled at the action. 'It wouldn't hurt to come back,' she thought. 'If he's telling the truth, then I get a car. And if he isn't, well then I'll just kick his ass.'
"Alright," she said and wrapped her pinky around his. "I'll take your pinky promise. But if you go back one it, I'll hunt you down and kill you in your sleep."
"Don't worry," Naruto assured her while tightening his pinky grip. "I never go back on my word."
"Neither do I," Hinata warned him and brought her own pinky back into her own possession once more. "I'll be back tomorrow then. I can even bring my cousin so he could drive it home."
"Wait, you can't drive?" he asked.
Hinata shook her head and laughed. "Nope. Not legally anyway, I don't have a license."
"Then, how were you going to get it home today?" Naruto asked again.
"Hm..." she trailed off in thought. "That's a good question. Too bad we won't figure it out, huh?"
"I guess not," he laughed a bit.
"Tomorrow then," she said as a sort of finalization to their arrangements and made her way for the gate to get to the sidewalk.
"Tomorrow," he agreed and waved back when she did.
Naruto watched her walk towards the exit, debating whether or not he should stop her just so that he could keep her company a little longer. He wanted to, but was at a loss on what he could use to do such a thing. It wasn't until she was through the gate that he finally decided to chase after her.
"Hinata!" he called out.
The girl stopped walking and turned back, tilting her head in question rather just asking what it was.
"Listen," he went on. "I know you can't drive but, what if I let you take it out anyway? The '69 I mean."
Hinata looked at him rather questioningly. "Are you serious?"
"Sure," he shrugged and pulled out a set of key from his jean pocket. The very action had the girl practically run back to him. Before she was able to reach for them though, he pulled them away and out of her reach. "Only if you do something for me though."
Normally, Hinata would have left at this point, but the idea of being able to not only ride in a vehicle that was confined only to her memory but drive it as well, the least she could do was hear out what he had to say.
"And that would be?" she questioned.
Naruto looked a little flushed, his mind racing to find an honest proposition. One that wouldn't peek her interest, rather then leave him hanging.
"There's a car show," he said finally. "This weekend that is. Near Fullerton, not a big one, it's just like an annual thing for the pizza place that's by it."
"Yeah, the one on Harbor," she said. "I know about it, I usually go to it."
"You do? Oh, well that's cool."
"Yeah. What about it?" she asked.
"Well, I was gonna ask, y'know, that um..." He scratched at the back of his head. "Ask if, um, we could go. Together that is."
Hinata's eyes widened slightly while her cheeks became stained with red. "Like... a date?" she asked carefully.
Naruto chuckled nervously. "I guess it's something like that."
Hinata quickly counted her blessings. 'Loving family, supportive friends, a job (not an awesome one but a good paying one... I guess), a place to live, a 1958 Impala, and a cute looking guy who owns a '69 asking me out. Though I don't think it would've crossed my mind if he didn't own the Impala. Well, I don't know that. Only one way to find out though, I guess...'
"Okay," came her response.
Naruto smiled brightly, then lessened it. "You're not doing this just for the Impala are you?"
Hinata laughed. "Well.. I'm not gonna say that it's not totally because of the Impala."
"Well, that's good," he said unsure. "I guess."
"So, you're really gonna let me drive it?" she asked.
"Right now?"
"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "Let's go!"
She raced past him, grabbing the set of keys on the way, only to stop and halfway turn to face him. "Um," she started. "Just so you know, I have this bad habit of calling attention to myself by cops."
He rounded on her. "What?"
"Come on!" she cried out and grabbed at one of his free hands, pulling him towards the stored vehicle.
"Hold on!" He called out. "I have to open the side gate first!"
Hinata let go of her grip and watched as went off to the side of the backyard, tinkering away at another chain that kept the gate together. When he was done, she didn't hesitate to jump into the driver's seat and looked for the key that looked like it went with the car. She tested her first guess and smiled when it fit into the ignition.
She looked around her, feeling completely overjoyed, feeling almost like she had travelled back in time to some of the happiest days of her life. Hinata felt a smile creep onto her face, one that grew when the passenger door was opened and Naruto plopped himself into the seat.
"You ready?" he asked while putting the seat belt on.
"Since forever," she replied. Before she turned the key she looked over at him and said, "You know what?"
"What?" Naruto asked.
"This was so worth it," she told him, before letting out a small laugh and turning the engine on.
xxx
End.
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A/N: It's kind of lacking isn't it? Just sitting here, bored, waiting for my bro to come home from school so we can finish the next chapter to our fic, thought I'd give you people something. See, if he took day classes, we wouldn't be in a situtation like this, we could've been working on it and probably even had it done by now. Whatever... Anyway, this was kinda based on a true story. I did find a 1958 Chevy Impala for sale and when I went to check it out, I like totally keeled over and died. It was positively out of sight kopacetic. Was never happier then at that moment. The only things that aren't was the whole '69 Impala part and I actually had Hinata accept the date. XP Anyway, yeah... I'm bored. Later much... Guess I'll watch Nana 'till he comes home. Nana is awesome, go watch it now if you haven't seen it! Or read the manga, either one. Oh, and if anyone can come up with a title for this, I'd appreciate it much. Mad love then, I'm out.