Chapter 2 – The Hated

The sun rays gently fell lower into the azure sky, peace was in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A small blond boy had finished his simple meal of ramen with his new found brother, and life seemed to be positive. The ramen stand had begun to prepare for the evening dinner rush, and the rest of the village prepared for the night life soon to come.

The boy, with a shy smile on his face, turned to the scarred man.

"Iruka-oniisan, t-thanks for taking me out for lunch. I-I mean, no one has ever really done anything… you know… nice for me before." He turned his shy gaze to the floor.

"Naruto, nothing has made me happier than to see you happy. I'd always seen you from a distance at the Academy, and I've seen what you've gone through. I want to protect you."

At this, Naruto turned his electric blue eyes up to Iruka's warm, brown pair. He realized that he had really lucked out; this man could be someone precious to him.

"Naruto, when you turn eight, you will join the ranks of the Academy students. You will train to learn to be a ninja. Are you ready for that? Can you han-" Iruka was abruptly cut off by a fierce glare from the young ninja to be.

"I will become a ninja. I will be the best. I will succeed." The boy said in a voice shaking with barely controlled emotion. Tears appeared at the edges of his eyes. He glanced down, staring at his shoes.

"I will protect you oniisan. I will." At this point Naruto's voice had dropped down to a whisper.

"Naruto, w-why would you go so far?"

"I will protect you and all those that I will find precious to me! My heart has been pained long enough by the anger of other for me to allow those close to me to suffer as well!"

Iruka looked amazed at the sheer maturity and promise those words brought. Though the pair didn't realize it at the time, the promise that a small, weak, and defenseless boy made would grow to become one of the most well-known codes of the shinobi world. The pact to love others and protect them no matter the cost was to become the most followed and hallowed promises to be spoken.

At the time, however, Iruka was simply touched at the utter emotions the boy had thrust upon him. Naruto also was amazed at what he had just said. Did he really feel so strongly about protecting his current and future precious people?

With another, wider smile, Iruka turned to the boy next to him, "Let's get you home Naruto."

And with that the two went walking to Naruto's small, run down, but homely apartment, oblivious to the stares, words, and pure hatred being directed at them.

The two did not even notice a small, frail, blue haired girl and her escort as they walked past confidently.

"N-N-Neji-sama… w-who was t-that?" The girl stuttered out, her shyness at even noticing the blond seven year old apparent.

"That boy is an abomination. He doesn't deserve his hold on life. Worthless piece of trash," a passerby spoke up loudly in response to the girl's question. Many of the other pedestrians nodded in agreement, some shaking their heads slowly as if their disapproval would cause Naruto to disappear.

"Hinata, he is a clanless brat. You would do well to forget about him. He is of no importance." The taller white eyed boy said. He was only nine, but he possessed wisdom, something quite rare in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. "The Hyuuga name would be tarnished if you were seen talking to him, so please don't ask him any questions or associate with him in any way."

"Y-Yes Neji-sama," With this final statement, the young Hyuuga girl bowed her head in submission.

"B-But why?" Hinata thought. "He has never done anything to harm me, so why can't I talk to him?" The girl was also positive that the young blond had given her a nod of his head as he walked by. Never having much affection in her life, the girl felt a blush crawl over her cheeks as she contemplated the boy.

"We must go Hinata. Your honorable father would like to speak with you about you training and entering the Academy." The long haired boy glanced at the girl to see if she was ready to go back to their compound.

"Y-Yes Neji-sama."

With a nod, the boy lead his charge back along the street of he village to their compound. As they walked, they took in the sweet sights and smells of the shops and vendors.

"Hot books here! Best adult entertainment right over here!" One vendor yelled out. Out of the corner of her eye Hinata could see a young, silver haired teen with a forehead protector over one eye dashing toward the vendor.

While Hinata blushed slightly at the thought of what the books contained, Neji grabbed his charge's hand and almost dragged her over to the other side of the street.

"Come one, come all, the best dangos and dumplings are right over here!" A portly vendor yelled this out, an eager smile on his face. The sweet dango was a very popular dish in Konoha. Even as the last words left his mouth, a purple haired teen ran straight at the cart. The vendor's eyes widened as he prepared for a crash. Even as he prepared for the worst, he couldn't help but notice that the young woman was wearing very few substantial clothes. At the last second, the teen stopped in front of the cart.

"I'll take twenty," she puffed out with a grin, sides heaving with the excitement of ordering her favorite dish.

Hinata's eyes widened once more. The woman was about to eat as much dango as the entire Hyuuga clan ate in a month! She watched as the women received her food, and ate it with a clearly sexual intent. Placing a stick of dango in both hands and pumping it while moaning was not how Hinata usually saw people eat the treat. Her ever present blush grew even wider as she witnessed many of the men of Konoha gather round the purple haired teen. The purple haired kunoichi caught Hinata's eye and winked. Hinata stumbled and bumped into Neji.

"Alright Hinata, I think that we've seen enough for one day. Let us continue to the Main House."

Hinata could only nod in agreement. The pair made their way for a few more minutes, not pausing or slowing down in the slightest. Soon the grand Hyuuga compound could be seen only a couple of minutes away.

Hinata cowered slightly behind Neji as they made their way to the front gate. She never liked the way that the guards looked at her, as if she was a weak liability. She could see it in the way their shoulders slumped, expecting something more from the Hyuuga heiress.

After the correct password was given, the boy could finally relax in his own part of the compound while the girl was left to bear the wrath of her constantly disappointed father.

Hinata walked past the beautiful front fountain, well tended flower beds, and a couple of the clan's guards. She reached her father's door. Steeling her fragile self, she knocked twice.

"Enter."

Hinata did as she was bidden, now almost bent double with fear. Her father never had a kind word to say to her, she was always too weak, too kindhearted. He simply didn't have time for his offspring. As far as the man was concerned, this was no daughter of his.

"Sit. We have much to discuss about your recent failures. It appears that you lost your spar with Neji again, correct?" He spoke these words with barely any inflection, as if he had already decided her punishment.

"Y-Yes F-Father. I tried hard, but he overcame me." It would be worthless to complain that she was barely seven, that Neji was already nine, already a master of the Gentle Fist style that their clan employed, and already one of the best members of their clan. No, complaining would not help, especially since her father judged her with a strict standard. Hinata was the clain heiress. Anything less than the best was trash to Hiashi Hyuuga.

Hiashi viewed his daughter with cold contempt evident on his chiseled face.

"Leave me. I hope that tomorrow you will stop being such a large embarrassment to our clan. Before you go, since you have failed at every aspect of the Hyuuga's tradition and heritage, you will be trained at the Academy until you are twelve. Maybe they can teach you to be a slightly less disgusting piece of filth than what you are now. Dismissed."

Hinata's face fell, tears leaking out of her eyes. She bowed to her father.

"I understand father. I will try my hardest." She ran from the room, tears hitting the floor with a rhythmic tap.

She would get stronger. She would bring pride to her clan. She would make her father see her talent. She would be loved!

Hinata's thoughts swirled as she ran to her room, collapsed on her bed, and fell into a twitching sleep. As she fell asleep, she remembered the face of the boy she witnessed earlier, how his face never ceased its small grin, even though it faced torment.

I want to be like that. I want true strength. Hinata thought as she finally fell into a nightmare filled slumber.

Author's Notes

This story is significantly different than many of the NaruHina fanfic group. For one, Hinata will have to compete to gain the affections of Naruto over some other characters, and she may not be the only one he loves. o.O Also, I plan on Naruto seeing some action before long… I will try at a MINIMUM to update once every 2 days.

Please review. If there is one thing I would love to see in the next 3 months, it is 1,000 reviews. Leave comments, concerns, plot directions, or other notations. Anything that you want to see in the story is also welcome.