The Evolution of Love
The Genin Exams
After a long, hot, and boring summer, Uzumaki Naruto stretched his developing muscles as he sprang out of his bed. He yawned and lazily looked around his tiny cramped apartment. He was met with clean floors, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and walls. He thought that if he was going to be nice, he would have to always be nice to himself for a change.
Naruto yawned again as he slipped his feet into his slippers and started to shuffle slowly into his kitchen.
"Better make something…" Naruto mumbled out as he started up his stove and went over to his refrigerator. As soon as he opened it, Naruto was met with food that was fresh and filled to the brim. Not only did him being nice change his cleaning habits, but it also changed his eating habits as well.
"Let's see…" The blonde started to search slowly for his item. "Oh there you are…" The boy then grabbed two eggs and started to crack them onto the counter, and spilt the yolks into the frying pan that was waiting patiently for him on the stove.
As it cooked, the boy then went to his cabinets, started to spastically look for a cup, plate, fork, and knife and then set them on the table and poured himself a glass of cold milk.
The stove dinged, and Naruto slowly shuffled over, turned off the stove, put the fried eggs onto his plate and sat down to eat his breakfast.
He sat in silence as he started to chew slowly on his breakfast.
"I wonder how Hinata's doin'…" Naruto said to himself between munches.
Ever since that day a summer ago, Naruto has been talking to Hinata a lot lately. Though Hinata did have a lot to do as Hyuuga heiress, and would mostly be out of the village to another during the summer, the duo would still manage to see each other from time to time.
Naruto didn't know if they were friends or not, but he didn't press the issue because he was afraid that if he jumped to conclusions, it might be awkward between them.
Well he was expecting to see her at school today because last week before she left to the Village of Tea Leaves; she had told him that she was supposed to return to school on the 1st day at 8 O'clock sharp.
Now that Naruto looked at the clocked with closed eyes, he could see that it was…!
He spat out chunks of food once he saw the clock. "IT'S 7:30?!" He immediately jumped up and started to frantically make his way over to the shower, tripping as he did so.
"DAMN IT! I'M GONNA BE LATE!" He yelled as he quickly stripped out of his striped pajamas and hoped into the shower.
After a few seconds of scrubbing himself down, Naruto got a towel and tied it around his hips. He then scrubbed his teeth and checked his growing hair. Over the summer, Naruto decided to grow his hair out to see what he would look like. So he took care of it, though it was still spiky. Naruto had two long blonde spiky side bangs that both reached a little over his chin (think of Minato's hair).
Naruto then spat out the tooth paste in the sink, got some mouthwash, and gurgled it down before spitting it into the sink as well. After that, Naruto got a small red scrunchie and started to tie up his hair into a small ponytail.
He rushed out the bathroom, ran into his bedroom, and opened his wardrobe.
"Let's see, let's see… What to wear, what to wear…?" He grumbled under his breath and started to franticly move through clothes.
The reason why Naruto has soo many clothes is because he actually made a friend with and old woman named Mel that ran a tailor shop in Konoha! Naruto smiled at the memory.
FLASHBACK
It was the middle on summer, and Naruto was rummaging through his wardrobe.
"There's nothin' in here…" The boy sighed and started went out onto the porch, to wash his clothes. As he did so, Naruto saw something that intrigued his sharp blue eyes.
"Hmm? What's that?" Naruto squinted his eyes and gasped. It was a tailor shop! Just what he needed, new clothes!
The blonde grinned and started to vigorously scrub down his clothes, before putting them on and folded up his pajamas. He then jumped out of his apartment, and started to hop his way over to the shop.
Once he was in, he started to look around. No one was in the shop.
It must be a slow day… Naruto sighed in relief. The last thing he wanted was to deal with some angry villagers again. The young lad started to look around the shop, fascinated with what he saw. His hands fingered the clothes, amazed by their softness and texture.
"Enjoying yerself?" A raspy voice said.
Naruto whipped around to see an old woman smiling at him from behind the counter. She was a chubby lady with white bristly hair that was woven tightly into a small bun, her black eyes had bags under them because of age, and she wore a plain pink kimono with green rims, and had frail but chubby hands that had red nail polish on her fingers.
Naruto cringed and tensed himself, awaiting her onslaught of whatever attack she would throw at him. The only attack she did, which greatly surprised him, was a hearty laugh.
"I ain't gonna attack ya boy," she said scowling at him, "who da ya think yer dealing with?"
Naruto blinked. "… So you're NOT gonna get me?" He was confused.
She sighed and waved him over. The Uzumaki was hesitant, but he reluctantly came over to her. Once he was close enough, the old woman clonked him square on his head.
Naruto staggered back while nursing his wound, swearing under his breath. After 5 seconds he suddenly rounded on the old woman. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR GRANNY?!"
"FOR YE BEING STUPID, YOU BRAT!" She yelled back just as loud. She then sighed and pulled out a pipe. "I don't hold no grudge against you gaki." She lit out her pipe before smoking it.
Naruto blinked while holding his head. A few seconds past before he started to breathe again. "Nani?"
The old woman hit him again. "Are ye stupid? I said: I don't hold no grudge against you!" She suddenly stabbed him with a finger. "I just hate that old fox in ya! Not you!"
"B-But… B-But…!" Naruto spluttered. "Everyone (but Hinata) hates me! They despise my very existence! They always yell: 'It's the demon brat!' or 'watch out for that monster'! Why don't you?!"
The lady sighed and puffed a bit of her pipe. "Lemme tell ya somethin' gaki. 13 yers ago, that fox was released onto Konoha. Shinobi fought against it, and many died. Of that many, me own son was amongst of the ones that died." Naruto saw that her face had looked like it aged a few more years. "Once I saw ya runnin around, I hated ya. Just lookin' at you, runnin with that smile on yer face, those tasteless clothes, those—"
"Hey, hey! I get it already!" Naruto shouted while he glared at the woman.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry brat. Anyway, I thought that with that stupid grin that was always on yer face, you were sad and dying inside. So I thought that I would stop holdin' a grudge against ya, and hold one to that fox in yer stomache." This time she stabbed Naruto's stomache with her wooden cane, which caused Naruto to go breathless for a few seconds.
After he regained his breath, Naruto rubbed his stomache while he looked up at the old woman. She in turn, gave him a toothy smile.
Naruto grinned. "It's actually pretty cool that at least one villager doesn't hate me!"
She laughed. "I like ya kid. Ya got spunk. So I'll let ya pick three outfits outta here fer free."
The blonde boy's eyes widened in surprise and shock. He could get something out of a store, for free? Without paying? He wouldn't get scolded at? No random stuff to the face? He just stared at the woman.
"Go on. Pick somethin' before I change me mind!" She growled.
Naruto cringed and started to scramble around the store, frantically searching for an outfit. Once he got three, he started to run out the door.
"Hey brat!" The woman called to him. Naruto stopped and looked at her.
"If ya need any clothes, come to me. I'm Hosokaya Mel by the way. So come on over and I'll hook ye up with some purrty clothes."
Naruto smiled and gave Mel a humble bow. "Thanks Mel-san. I'll hold you up to your offer."
FLASHBACK OVER
Naruto smiled fondly as he thought of the old woman. He snapped out of it though once he heard his alarm clock ring.
"OH NO! IT'S 7:30 ALREADY?! I'VE GOTTA HURRY!" Naruto started to through his clothes out of the wardrobe, not carrying for keeping tidy now. He found his outfit which consisted of an orange tracksuit with blue on the upper shoulders area as well as around the waist, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, a red swirl on the back, a large white collar, and orange pants. He quickly stripped off his towel (don't be perverted girls!) and started to put on his outfit.
He then rushed out; with the eggs he snatched along the way, and put on his blue unisex ninja sandals. He quickly opened the door, and locked it once he was outside. "Only one more thing to do…"
Since Naruto usually had experience with people breaking and entering and vandalizing his things when the blonde was usually away. But since Naruto has been training during the summer, he has made some… unique additions into making his home safer.
The Uzumaki then lifted two fingers which started to glow blue along his fingertips. He then touched his door with that glowing hand, activating his traps and held them on standby. Naruto grinned. "This outta keep those pests out!" The blonde then started to hop along the roofs towards the school.
Naruto was waiting patiently for Hinata near the entrance of the Academy. He saw kids go in, and they all either stared at him with curiosity or surprise. The blonde started to fidget and kicked the dirt impatiently.
"Aww when is she coming?!" He growled. "It's almost been 5 minutes!"
He sighed and slumped against the wall. He started to play with his fingers or random objects to pass the time. Though when it had gotten hot, he started to pant; it was after summer after all. The after effects of the season still lingered heavily over Konohagakure.
Naruto stood up and unzipped his jacket, revealing his fishnet shirt that showed his torso underneath (squeal!). How many degrees is it out here?! He thought grudgingly.
"N-Naruto-kun!" A soft voice called out to him.
Naruto craned his head to happily see Hinata running over to him. Her hair was still short, and still leveled hime-cut style just above her forehead, with her strands reaching chin-length now, and it framed her face. But what she wore, was new to Naruto. It was a cream-coloured hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, with navy blue pants. But if there were three things Naruto still recognized about her, they were her blue unisex ninja sandals, her shy and timid demeanor, and her lavender eyes that weren't as big as before, but they were still noticeable.
Naruto waved to her and ran up to meet her. Hinata stopped, but Naruto kept going until he had her wrapped in his arms, and her small, lithe body against his strong, steady one.
"N-N-Naruto-k-kun?! Wh-What are you—?"
"I've missed you Hinata!" Naruto grinned, cutting her off midsentence. He gave her one last squeeze before letting her go. "It's been soo boring while you were gone! I had no one to talk to!"
He watched as Hinata started to wobble with amused eyes. She then shook her head before replying. "O-Oh I bet that's n-not true N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata stammered shyly. "I bet you talked t-to S-S-Sakura-san… Or Shikamaru-k-kun…"
Naruto snorted, making Hinata look up at him curiously. "Sakura-chan wouldn't give me the time of day even if I try!" Naruto grinned at Hinata and took her hands in his own. He was oblivious to the fact that Hinata's face was a dark red color. "But I'd much rather spend time with a friend like you Hinata!"
Hinata blushed harder and her hands started to shake nervously in Naruto's. "A-Are we friends…?" She looked down in embarrassment.
Naruto blinked and let go of one of her hands to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "I dunno… I mean, if you want to… I just thought…" Naruto felt his voice fail him as he awaited Hinata's answer.
He was nervous, he was beyond nervous. As he watched Hinata stare at him with her eyes wide, he started to think negatively.
Does she want to be friends? Is she rethinking about talking to me? She probably is, I better tell her if she doesn't— "O-Okay." I knew it would be alright all along!
Naruto grinned and started to hug Hinata so hard; he almost broke her fragile figure. "Thanks Hinata-chan! This day couldn't possibly get better!" If you would squint your eyes onto Naruto's tanned cheeks, you could see a tiny tinge of pink stained on them.
And so, the evolution of love begins…
Iruka scanned his paper while calling out the names of his students. He was worried because two of his students were not present. They were: Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto.
"Daichi?"
"Here!"
Iruka kept his face trained on the paper, but his worry did not diminish. Rather, it increased with each passing second.
Naruto, where in the blazes are you?! Iruka thought with sweat perpetrating down his neck not because of the heat, but because of worry.
"Sakura?"
"Present Iruka-sensei!" The pinkette shouted while her hand shot up.
Sakura now wore a red qipao dress with white circular designs, with short sleeves, with a zipper, tight dark green shorts, and blue unisex ninja sandals. She grew her hair out longer and held it back with a red ribbon that allowed two long bangs to frame her face.
"Aren't we an eager beaver today, eh pinky?" Ino snickered in front of the Haruno. The now long haired blonde wore a short purple vest like blouse with a raised collar, a skirt that was cut off on the sides and bandage on her stomach and legs. She also wore purple and white elbow warmers as a decoration.
"SHUT UP INO-PIG!"
"MAKE ME BILLBORAD BROW!"
And there they go again… Iruka sighed. Some things will never change… "Sakura, Ino, please sit down."
"Hai, Iruka-sensei." The two rivals in love grumbled simultaneously.
"Alright then," Iruka coughed and look through the papers again, "moving on. Hinata?"
No one answered. Iruka grew nervous again. "Hinata? Hyuuga Hinata? Has anyone seen Hinata?" The class all shook their heads and started to whisper amongst themselves.
Iruka gulped then sighed again. "I guess Hyuuga Hinata is—"
"HERE!"
Everyone turned to see Hinata being dragged in by a ponytailed blonde boy. He had a grin on his face has he pulled his partner along towards Iruka.
"I-Iruka-sensei, I-I'm here." Hinata said weakly as she blushed horribly from her partner still holding her hand.
Iruka sighed in relief. That's one down… But where's… Iruka stopped short once his eyes trained on to the boy next to her. His eyes widened in surprise as he recollected the boy's appearance.
"Na—"
"AND UZUMAKI NARUTO, REPORTING IN FOR DUTY TOO!" The grinning boy yelled as well as he gave Iruka a salute.
Everyone went silent.
"EHH?!" They all screamed.
Naruto turned and huffed at them with a mock glare. "Seriously, you guys need to get with the program!"
"N-Naruto…?" Umino stammered, pointing at the blonde with a shaky finger. "I-Is that you?"
"The one and only!" He grinned. He suddenly pointed to the whisker marks on his cheeks. "I have whisker marks, ya see?"
"You look… Different…"
Naruto suddenly let go of Hinata's hand and placed both of his on his hips as he gave a hearty laugh, again shocking everyone. "I know right?! It is true when they say that wearing new clothes makes you look completely different!"
"And your hair?!" A new voice yelled at the spiky blonde. The trio turned to see Kiba pointing at Naruto's ponytail. Kiba had also changed his attire like everyone else. The Inuzuka wore dark greyish pants reaching to his calves and a grey, hooded fur-lined coat, with the hood firmly placed on his head, and had an apparent plate of armor and fishnet undershirt inside the coat and blue unisex ninja sandals. Akamaru poked out of the front of his jacket.
"Oh this," Naruto said pointing to his ponytail, "I've decided to grow it out. See what it looks like, ya know…? Wanna see it?" Before Kiba could reply, Naruto already started to undo his scrunchie. Once he got it off, his hair immediately cascaded down to his shoulders. It framed his face handsomely, and the blonde seemed to glow as he shook it out to let his hair a bit looser.
This caused three events; one, Hinata's face turned crimson red. Two, all of the other girls in the room had small blushes stained on their cheeks. And three, all of the boys, including Sasuke, either glared at Naruto or looked at him curiously.
Naruto stopped shaking his hair and blew the strands of hair that got in his face. He then smiled triumphantly at the Inuzuka. "Pretty cool, eh?"
"Nope. It makes you look like a girl!" Kiba sneered and the other boys started to laugh at his comment.
Naruto growled and a vein bursted on the corner of his head. He then chuckled lowly as he massaged his temples. "Don't be jealous Kiba. Just because you look and smell like a dog, it isn't the end of the world for you to find a girl that might actually like a mutt like you."
Then everyone started to laugh, much to the dog tamer's annoyance. Kiba stood up and punched his fist into his hand and grinned manically at Naruto. "OH, YOU WANNA GO?!"
"BRING IT ON DOG BREATH!" The blonde shouted as he started to pull up his sleeves.
"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Iruka screamed, silencing the classroom. "Naruto, Hinata, please take your seats." Hinata complied instantly and started to make her way towards her seat; while Naruto grumbled under his breath and walked right behind her.
Hinata sat down in her seat and Naruto sat in the empty seat right in front of her. Iruka nodded and coughed to get class started.
"Right then, as I have previously stated before, today is the beginning of the Genin Exams." The class groaned in annoyance. "So each student will perform the following jutsus: Substitution Jutsu, Henge, and Clone Jutsu."
"First up is…"
Naruto yawned as he waited for his turn. The disadvantage of having the last name Uzumaki was that your name always came last when called in alphabetical order. Naruto sighed and started to play with his fingers; but then he was snapped out of his boredom when a soft voice called out to him.
"Na-Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered to him softly.
Naruto immediately lit up and twisted his body towards his friend with a happy grin on his face.
"Yes Hinata-chan?"
Hinata fidgeted with her fingers for a bit, causing Naruto to tilt his head in curiosity and smile at the same time. "Wh-Why did y-you call me Hi-Hinata-chan…?" She asked.
Naruto rubbed his chin and stared up at the ceiling playfully. "Hmm… Why did I call you Hinata-chan, Hinata-chan?" He teetered his body left and right as he "thought" about his answer.
"Oh that's right!" Naruto said aloud while pounding his fist down into his hand. "Because, since you're my new friend, you've gotta have a nickname!"
Hinata jumped in surprise. She suddenly looked down at her desk and started to push her two fingers together again. Naruto smiled.
"And besides," He stated, "It has a nice ring to it, don'tcha think?" Naruto then cleared his throat and began to sing softly. "Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan! Oh how I love to sing your name! Hinata-chaaan!" And the blonde continued to sing making the bluenette blush harder with each note.
"Na-Naruto-kun…!" Hinata quietly admonished the blonde. But he continued to serenade her, so she covers her face with her hands and shakes her head; as if trying to make all of this go away.
Naruto laughed heartily but soon got silenced by Iruka's chalk that hit the Kyuubi container square on the head.
"Naruto," Iruka said in a sickly sweet voice, "since you seem to have free time on your hands, why don't you come up right now hmm?"
Everyone laughed at the blonde's expense as he made his way down to his teacher; out of all of them, Kiba was the loudest (much to Naruto's annoyance). Iruka had his hand gripped firmly on his pencil as he awaited the blonde's jutsu's. Naruto sighed and got himself ready.
"Substitution Jutsu!" He yelled as he made the necessary seals. Naruto suddenly poofed and in his place, a log was there. The door opened, all eyes were focused on it, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki walked into the classroom.
Iruka blinked. "Very… good… Naruto…" The scarred man shook his head and got on with it. "Okay, next perform the Henge."
Naruto nodded and made the seals: Dog, Boar, and Ram and yelled "Henge Jutsu!" before being, yet again, engulfed in a white cloud. After it cleared, there stood a perfect replica of Umino Iruka.
The students started to whisper loudly amongst themselves. It was almost as if you could hear thousands of buzzing bees in the room. The real Iruka coughed to restore order once again. "W-Well Naruto, it seems you have improved quite a bit over the summer." Iruka commented.
"Yeah, I trained over the summer on my chakra control, 'cause it was the most difficult for me to learn." Naruto said sheepishly as he scratched at his whiskered cheek with a finger. "So I can manage a few jutsu without it failing. I ought to thank Old Lady Mel though, what with her making do impossible stuff around the shop…" Naruto sighed. The old woman could be a slave-driver at times…
Iruka stared at Naruto quizzically while the most of the class stared at Naruto with annoyance as the blonde started to ramble on and on about an old lady yelling at him at a paint incident he "accidently" committed.
"Ah, Naruto," Iruka said, getting the young lad's attention, "we've got to get this class rolling so please do the next jutsu."
"R-Right…" Naruto agreed and slowed down his breathing. He would always have trouble doing the Clone Jutsu specifically because it required that your chakra would be controlled throughout the entirety of the shinobi's body.
He suddenly clenched his hands as he felt his chakra pulsate around his body. No one else could, but he could feel chakra flares lashing out in all directions. 10 seconds had passed.
Okay, calm down Naruto… He told himself as he felt the chakra spikes recede slowly. Focus your chakra… Kept it maintained and controlled… 5 more seconds had passed.
Iruka was staring at the blonde with worried eyes. As he saw Naruto focusing hard, the Umino couldn't help but think that Uzumaki Naruto would fail at this jutsu yet again. C'mon Naruto… Focus…!
Hinata was watching the blonde with worried eyes also. She her hands into small, petite fists against her chest. She was silently praying that her friend would pass, and that this jutsu would not fail again.
"N-Naruto-kun…" She whispered silently.
Naruto felt his ears twitch slightly. It felt like someone was calling out to him, but he didn't know who. He had ignored it for now, and felt his charka coil densely into the core of his being. It had taken a bit of concentration, sweat, patience; but he had finally done it. Alright… Now to make the seals…
Naruto suddenly snapped his eyes open with determination written on his face. His hands made the signs of: Tiger, Boar, Ox, and Dog and he, yet again, exploded into a cloud of white.
Everyone started to wave away the smoke as they were curiously awaiting Naruto's failed or achieved jutsu. They all suddenly saw a blurry figure and leaned towards it, sweating with anticipation. When the smoke cleared, to their surprise, and Iruka's too, they all saw 5 identical Naruto's, standing at the front of the class room.
Naruto blinked in confusion as to why the classroom was in loud whispers. What the…? Naruto started to slowly turn around, only to jump in surprise as he saw four clones of himself… standing right behind him!
"GAH!" The real blonde screamed and took a few steps back. His clones all started at him quizzically.
"IRUKA-SENSEI, HOW COME THERE ARE FOUR OF ME?!" Naruto screamed at his teacher while pointing an accusing finger at his clones. He got his answer with a fist to his hand, provided graciously by Umino Iruka himself.
"YOU IDIOT!" Iruka shouted, using his Big Head no Jutsu in the process. "YOU OBVIOUSLY SUMMONDED THEM, YOU BAKA!"
The class then erupted in boisterous laughter as they watched the two comically yell at each other. Hinata couldn't help but giggle and Sasuke gave a small chuckle.
"Oh really…?" Naruto suddenly went up to one and tried to pat his clone's cheek, put his hand passed right through. "Hey how come I can't touch them?"
Iruka sighed. "I explained it in class the Clone Jutsu is an illusion jutsu. So that means you cannot touch your clones for they are illusions. Don't you pay attention in class Naruto?"
"Nope."
"I figured as much…" The chūnin hung his head gloomily. "Well, you pass so go get your hitai-ate then."
"Yatta!" Naruto cheered and ran up to his other sensei named Mizuki. Mizuki had shoulder-length, white hair that has a slight hint of blue to it and green eyes. He wears the standard attire of the regular Konoha-nin, which was a green flak jacket with red swirls on the sides of the shoulders.
"Congradulations Naruto, I knew you could do it." Mizuki said as he gave the blonde his much awarded ninja Forehead Protector.
"Thanks Mizuki-sensei! I won't let you down when I become a ninja, dattebayo!" Naruto smiled as he grabbed his hitai-ate from his sensei.
"Oh I'm sure you won't!" Naruto grinned and bowed towards Mizuki and ran back to his seat. Though he failed to notice the evil glint in Mizuki's eyes as the chūnin watched his retreating back as he ran away. "I'm sure you won't..."
Naruto jumped back into his seat, startling Hyuuga Hinata immensely. The lad put up his legs on his desk and tied the protector around his forehead. Once it was tightly tied and fit comfortable on his head, Naruto then leaned his head back to look at Hinata upside down.
"Look Hinata-chan!" He grinned as he pointed at his newly acquired hitai-ate which had the Leaf's insignia carved in the center of it. "I'm finally a ninja now! Isn't that cool?!"
Hinata nodded sheepishly as she stared into the eyes of her crush with a red blush staining her cheeks. "Y-Yes it is very good N-Naruto-kun. I-I am very proud of you." Naruto grins went a little wider as his cheeks tinged a barely visible color of pink and he started to scratch one cheek in embarrassment.
But his happiness was short lived once he heard Hinata sigh in disappointment.
"What's the matter Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked tilting his head in confusion. "You scared or something?"
Hinata nodded silently, but then shook her head and clutched her hands closer to her chest. Naruto suddenly leaned back up and turned around to face her; silently telling her to talk to him about it.
Hinata blushed at the attention, but began talking nonetheless. "I-I'm confident about my abilities on performing jutsu, b-but I can't help feel that if I mess up, father will get angry with m-me…"
Naruto furrowed his blonde eyebrows in thought. "What do you mean by that?"
Hinata sighed again and started to play with her fingers. "I-It's just that… F-Father thinks of me a-as a failure to the Hyuuga clan, j-just like everyone else… I-I've messed up so many t-times already, and I f-feel if I mess up this time…" She trailed off and her eyes started to water, making Naruto look up at her in shock and he strangely felt his heart start to break in two.
"Bullshit!" Naruto swore quietly, making Hinata jump in surprise by his brash language.
"Na-Naruto-kun!"
"Your old man must be pretty stupid if he can't see how cool you are!" Naruto growled out ignoring her comment and not noticing her immense blush that was spreading across her face rapidly. "You're strong, smart, and the most non-girlishly girl I have ever met! I'll be darned if anyone can't see that in you!"
Hinata deadpanned as she heard her crush call her "non-girly". J-Just what does he m-mean by that…? Naruto took her deadpan as a sign that she wasn't feeling better. He decided to up the ante.
"Hinata."
The Hyuuga heiress looked up from her stupor to see the Uzumaki staring at her with bright, shimmering cerulean eyes as he smiled at her gently. Little did Naruto know, this look shaped his face handsomely as a few strands of his long blonde locks started to bellow in his face. His crossed arms were placed firmly on her desk and leaned forward making Hinata lean back at his sudden action.
"If you feel like you're not getting any better then…" He smiled a bit wider making some of his sparkling white teeth show. "…why don't we train together, ne?"
Hinata's face exploded into a color of crimson as she started to poke her fingers together nervously and splutter her words incoherently. The girls who were around them were staring at Naruto with surprise on their faces. They all blushed when they saw a face of his that they never knew the blonde boy could show.
After a few more students, Hinata went up next with Naruto cheering her on. She blushed heavily from embarrassment but started to do her jutsus nevertheless. She executed each one perfectly with little to no time. For her Substitution Jutsu, she replaced herself with a potted plant on the windowsill. For her Henge Jutsu, she turned into the Third Hokage himself; she had no flaws in his appearance. For her Clone Jutsu, she did three clones instead of the required one. Iruka complimented her chakra control, making the Hyuuga meekly bow with pink cheeks.
Mizuki complimented her as well and gave her hitai-ate and telling her to become a great kunoichi. Hinata responded with a yes and bow to him as well. As she made her way to her seat, she started to tie her Forehead Protector on. But instead of putting it on her forehead like most newly acquainted genin, Hinata tied it around her neck instead.
She sat down and Naruto smiled at her, making her look at him curiously.
"Y-Yes N-Naruto-kun?"
Naruto grinned. "You look cute with your hitai-ate around your neck."
Hinata's mind suddenly went blank. She froze and stared at him with only one thought crossing her mind. Naruto-kun thinks I'm cute… Naruto-kun thinks I'm cute…! Naruto-kun thinks I'm cute!
Once the final bell rung and Iruka dismissed class saying that he will be assigning genin teams tomorrow. Hinata promptly fainted right then and there in her seat, making Naruto jump up in surprise.
"Hinata-chan?! HINATA-CHAN! Oh no, not again!" Naruto shouted and jumped up next to her and started to shake her, hopefully to make her regain consciousness.
A bit later after Naruto managed to shake awake the unconscious Hinata. Naruto felt his eyes widen as he heard her moan and slowly open her pearly Hyuuga eyes. Her face glistened as she stirred awake and her small balled up fists started to paw at her cheeks.
She looks like a kitten… Naruto thought, his cheeks burning dark pink, unbeknownst to him.
He proved his point of his theory when the heiress mewled like a kitten, effectively making Naruto catch his breath. Once she got her bearings, Hinata blushed as she found out she was in Naruto's arms.
She couldn't understand why Naruto looked like he was choked up but she knew well enough that she should get out of his arms before she fainted again.
"K-KYAA!" She screamed and stuffed her hands in her face, making Naruto fall back and let her go.
Hinata breathed heavily as she managed to not faint but her face was really red and she gripped her hands for dear life. She watched as Naruto started to get back up, but with a red nose.
"Ouchouchouchouchouch!" He said while nursing his nose. He looked at Hinata incredulously. "What the heck was that for Hinata-chan?"
Hinata fidgeted and inhale deeply before speaking. "G-Gomen Naruto-k-kun… But I-I don't like t-to be held cl-close by people… I-It's very uncomfortable f-for me…" The truth was that Hinata didn't like to be held close by Naruto. One was being that she liked him, and two being that if anyone saw them, she would be thoroughly embarrassed.
Naruto, being the oblivious one he was, totally took the bait. "O-Oh! Sorry about that Hinata-chan! I didn't know that you didn't like to be held! I promise to try to not make you uncomfortable ever again!"
Hinata nodded hesitantly while giving him a small smile in return.
A few moments later, the duo decided to walk home together. Naruto said he was going in her direction so she wouldn't have to walk home alone. The orange clad genin was telling the timid girl a story of him pranking an unsuspecting Nara clan when they were stopped by someone calling out to them.
"Naruto, Hinata!"
The two turned to see Mizuki running up to them. He stopped once he was close enough and addressed them. "Hey Hinata, do you mind if I steal Naruto away from you a minute?"
"N-Not at all, Mizuki-sensei." She stammered.
The chūnin then led the young lad away and started to speak to him. "Naruto, I couldn't help but notice you struggling with your Clone Jutsu technique."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "So you saw that? Well to be honest sensei, I could use a little work…"
Mizuki grinned sadistically at the boy for a split second. All according to plan… He suddenly put on a mask of a warm and caring sensei again. "Well why don't you come over here tonight at 8 O'clock and I can discuss a special training regimen that can improve your abilities tenfold."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "You would really do that for me Mizuki-sensei?"
"Of course! Anything for my students!" Mizuki grinned, but inside the blue haired chūnin was laughing manically. "But the thing is, you can't tell anyone okay. It's just between you and me."
"Yosh!" Naruto yelled giving a salute to him. "I won't tell a soul! You can count on me!" The blonde then ran over to Hinata and started to walk with her, not even pondering once about what he has been told.
Once they were far enough, Mizuki laughed manically and looked at the sky with insanity written over his features. "What a gullible idiot! Konoha won't know what hit them once I get my hands on the Forbidden Scroll!" And the insane shinobi laughed all the way home, and got himself ready for tonight.
OH NOES! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO NARUTO! WILL HINATA BE INVOLVED?! NOES! But anyway, please review down below and give me some ideas if you could! I'd really appreciate it! See ya soon!
