Several years ago

"Hey, there he his, the demon."

"Why does the Hokage keep someone like him in the village?"

"He should've never been born."

"Honey, don't associate yourself with that kid. He's a monster."

Those sort talks behind his back were annoying to the 8-year old blond as he ate his ramen. At first, he was not okay with it, saddened even, it eventually became bothersome as he got older. As usual, Naruto kept to himself, trusting only the owner of the ramen shop and his daughter, the Third Hokage, and his "guardian". Finishing his bowl, he paid for his meal before he left, though not before saying thanks to the ramen shop owner and his daughter. Everywhere he looked, people, even kids, looked at him with hate and contempt.

"Honestly, these villagers can just go off and die in a mission for all I care. It's not like I'll miss them. After all, who in this village will give a damn if I were to die?"

Umino Residence

Instead of socializing with the other kids, Naruto would be reading his books, playing video games, watching anime and American TV shows, and training by himself. He had no need to go outside since his guardian would usually bring what he wanted or needed to him. Right now, Naruto was watching the news as he tinkered with some device, listening to how "Earth Mightiest Heroes" saved the day once again. To the blond, he was envious of the heroes on TV. Being praised, saving the day, being noticed...

Present

"Really? You're an Avengers fan?" asked Ayane. She was well aware of the superheroes in America. She knew how strong they were, which was why she never dared to go against any of them. While she considered the heroes there strong, she was no fan of them at all. Mainly since they wore tights to do their job. Ayane wore shinobi gear, but it was because she was no hero, she was a ninja first, and a hero never.

"Yeah, I like The Avengers. I look up to them, and I'm inspired by them to be a hero, it's just...I never thought of myself as a hero until I saved "her".

"Her?" Ayane asked, raising a brow.

"Let me continue my tale. You'll eventually know who I mean."

Past

"Not going out to play again Naruto?" Looking up, he sees Iruka smiling at him as he held bags of groceries in his hands. Three years ago, Iruka had been chosen to watch after Naruto by the Third Hokage himself, the former not wanting to take care of the "Monster who killed his parents". Despite his protest against it, The Third Hokage made him the blond's guardian anyways. When the kid first appeared at his apartment, the two barely said anything to each other.

Naruto, like he was now, kept to himself, while Iruka just ignored him. At some point, Iruka injured himself while cooking. Annoyed at Iruka's cooking, the blond had to push him aside and cook for the both of them. To his surprise, Iruka found that he was an amazing cook and had complimented him. Though surprised at being praised, Naruto brushed it aside and went on being his usual self. Slowly, as time passed, both him and Iruka got used to each other, eventually having a chat about what they liked and disliked. Once he was 7, they were a bit open with each other, with Iruka making Naruto swear to be honest with one another, the latter begrudgingly accepting it. To Iruka's surprise, he soon found out about the kid's intelligence, as well as his self-developed skills in simple fighting styles. When asked how a kid like him could know a lot at his age, Naruto simply said, "I had to mature on my own. After all, I had no parents to teach me how to be a kid."

Hearing Naruto say that saddened him. To see him grow from a boy who asked why the village hated him to being the boy who didn't care what people said about him or feel hurt about it. Not wanting him to be the way he was, Iruka had enrolled him to the academy. While he had two of the admission requirements, "Have a mind that will not yield and be able to endure hard training and work" and "Be healthy in mind and body", Naruto did not love the village, nor did he have the intention of helping preserve the village's peace and prosperity. With the Third Hokage's approval, he was enrolled into the academy.

It had been over a year now since Naruto took classes there. He excelled in his work, both mentally and physically, being on par with Sasuke Uchiha, whom the blond hated due to him getting the attention of all his peers and fellow students. No matter what he did, they never looked at him the way they did Sasuke.

"Why? I don't have any friends. Besides, I can work on my own stuff in peace."

"I see..." Looking at the TV, Iruka notices Iron Man being interviewed on TV before looking back at Naruto. "You obviously want to help people, yet you're unwilling to help those who hate you."

"Why should I give a damn about people who hate me for no reason at all?" he asked.

"Hey, language..." Frowning, Naruto gave Iruka a dollar. "I understand you not wanting to help the people who hate you...But I think you should reconsider." When asked why, Iruka said, "Because that's what a true hero would do." Naruto simply said nothing about it and decided to get up and prepare for dinner. As he left to go cook, Iruka continued to watch the news Naruto was watching. This time, it was Captain America thanking Spider-Man for helping them, and how, despite being hated, he saved people, and that he was the true hero today.

"If only Naruto took up to you Spider-Man..."

At dinner, Naruto and Iruka ate in silence, simply because neither one of them had anything to talk about. He was Naruto's classroom teacher, so he couldn't talk to him about classes or grades since he already knew that he was doing well. Finally, Iruka spoke.

"Naruto, I think you should spend the rest of the day outside after class." When Naruto asked why Iruka simply said that opportunities and good change can come to him and that he'd have to find it.

"As if I'd find any sort of thing like that in this village," Naruto replied.

"...How about a bet?" Naruto raised a brow, wondering what sort of thing Iruka has planned in his sleeves. "If you don't find anything interesting that changes you, I'll get you a new video game."

"A new video game huh...What do you get if I do find it?"

"You're treating us both to ramen the next time we go to Ichiraku," Iruka replied, surprising Naruto. "But I'm saving up money for-"

"Ohhh, are you scared?" Iruka asked with a smile.

"I'm not scared! In fact, I'll do your stupid challenge. But I'll tell you this, nothing good will come tomorrow."

The next day...

"Again...Again! How does that kid match Sasuke!?" yelled a pink-haired girl, pointing at Naruto as she asked the question out loud. Today was shuriken practice, and the students were lined up for their turns. Sasuke, as usual, went up first, scoring a perfect, and then Naruto went after, getting the same score as Sasuke.

"Maybe because I try? Is that a good answer for you, Suckura?" Angry, the girl known as Sakura attempted to hit him, only for the blond to effortlessly dodge her attacks as usual, with Iruka having to talk her down.

"That kid must've cheated."

"That must be it. Maybe Iruka-sensei's helping him."

"Tch, same old same old," Naruto said to himself.

"Good...Good job, Naruto." A bit surprised, Naruto looked around, wondering who said that.

"Was it just my imagination?" he thought before continuing his lessons.

Lunch Time

As his usual spot, the swings attached to the tree, Naruto sat down as he ate his cup ramen. He had no one to talk to or eat with, but it was fine. He was used to it after all.

"Ex...Excuse me." Looking to his left, he sees a girl his age, the girl had dark blue hair that she kept in a hime-cut that was short, kept just above her forehead with chin-length strands framing her face. Her eyes were featureless white eyes with tinges of lavender in them.

"What is it?" Naruto rudely asked the girl. Was she another one of Sasuke's "fans"?

"I've...noticed that you...You...eat alone." said the girl. Naruto simply said that he was fine with it. "...Can I eat my lunch with you?" A bit cautious, Naruto asked why. The girl simply said that she just wanted to eat with the lonely blond and that they were students of Iruka's class.

"Why not start a fight with those Sasuke fangirls?" Naruto asked.

"Because I want to...sit...with you." The last part made the girl blush, confusing the blond.

"...I don't care, do what you want." Happy, the girl rested her back against the tree as she dug into her lunch. Naruto simply watched her eat a bit before resuming his lunch. The two said nothing to each other as they finished their respective lunch. Immediately, Naruto got up and threw away his empty ramen cup as the girl followed him and did the same with her lunch.

"See you in class I guess..." Naruto said before walking away.

"Hinata..."

"Huh?"

"My name is Hinata Hyuga..." said the girl. "If you'll allow me...I'd like to eat lunch with you again." Finishing, Hinata looked down in order to hide her red face.

"...I already told you, I don't care, do what you want." Surprised by this, Hinata watched as Naruto walked back to class.

Classroom

As a lecture was going on, Naruto wrote whatever information would be helpful to know. While doing so, he could feel all eyes on him from a large majority of the students in the class.

"There's a lesson going on in class, pay attention to that instead of some kid who's trying to learn..." As Naruto continued jotting down notes, Hinata watched from across the class. But she wasn't watching because she hated him, but to understand why everyone was looking at him like some unwanted ice cream flavor.

After School

Getting out, Naruto voiced how glad he was that it was over. Looking at the students going out to hang and have fun together, his eyes narrowed. Having no friends, Naruto decided to go off and train by himself today. That was until he noticed three boys a year older than him asking Hinata to come with them. Curious, he decided to trail them.

Behind the academy

"Hey, we need money to go play at the arcade as usual. Pay up." the first boy. Being a daughter of the Head of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata was rich. Because of this, boys like the three that were in front of her forced her to give them her allowance. As usual, she tried to tell them no. Sadly, it ended with her being unable to say it, with one of the boys pushing her down and taking her allowance.

"N-N-N-..." Again, she couldn't say it.

"What? What was that? N-N-N-" said the second boy, who simply laughed at the Hyuga girl. "Just give it to us. After all, your family's rich so you don't have to worry about losing it."

"And what if she doesn't want to give you any to a bunch of bullies?" Turning around, the three boys see Naruto glaring at them. "Oh, it's the blond kid no one in the village likes. Beat it, or we'll have to beat you." said the first boy.

"Are you taking money from a rich kid, simply because she can afford things, or because your parents won't give you an allowance since you three are obviously a bunch of spoiled kids?" Naruto said in a mocking tone, angering them. Deciding to teach him a lesson, the three boys decide to beat up Naruto. That would be a mistake they would never forget.

Hinata could only watch in surprise as Naruto beats up the boys with little effort as he continuously mocked them. After 3 minutes of fighting, he had defeated them without a scratch, and without breaking a sweat. "I'd pay you three for trying, but you're not worth it." Having said that, Naruto finished by telling them, "Now listen well, Hinata Hyuga is not going to give you any more money to you stooges. If you even think of trying this stunt again, I'll break your legs." Scared, the three boys run away crying.

Turning to Hinata, he asked if she was okay. To his surprise, the girl started crying before hugging the blond and constantly saying thank you to him. A few minutes later, having calmed down, Naruto sat with the girl behind the academy. He could've left her to cry, but he felt compelled to sit with Hinata and make sure she was okay, just in case those boys came back.

"I've had trouble with being assertive ever since I was 5. I hoped that by going to the academy, I could maybe change myself. But...I guess nothing has changed."

"Seems like it," Naruto replied.

"Neji nii-san encouraged me to come here, hoping that it'd help me."

"I just came here because our teacher's my guardian and that I could become a good ninja. Nothing more, nothing less." Curious, Hinata asked Naruto why he came to save her. "You were in trouble, that's why."

"Well, thank you," Hinata replied. Hearing this, Naruto told her how annoyed he was with her saying thank you to him, having already told him that as she was crying a few minutes ago, causing her to blush in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry..."

"Whatever, I have to go." Getting up, Naruto prepared to leave. Before he could, he felt Hinata tug on his shirt. "What is it now?"

"Be my friend!"

"...Huh?"

"We should be friends! Me and you!" Hinata yelled.

"Why would you want me as a friend?" Naruto asked, with Hinata telling him that she just wanted to. She didn't need any other reason.

"I'm not looking to make friends Hinata."

"...That's fine." This seemed to surprise Naruto. "Whether you like it or not, we're students of Iruka's. We should be getting along, me and you. You look so alone every time I saw you in class, and I wanted to change that. I wanted to approach you, but I couldn't. Today was the first time I finally talked to you, even see that you can care about others. Because of today, I've decided to make you my friend." Having said all that, Hinata realized what she did and blushed once more.

Naruto said nothing after a few seconds before sighing and telling her, "Geez, to tell yourself nothing about you has changed, what the hell was that just now?" Surprised by his comment on her little burst of assertiveness, Hinata smiled as the blond left.

Present

"Wow, you were like that?" Ayane asked, surprised. "So that's what he meant by you being a real jerk..."

"Yeah, but I changed how I spoke to her...eventually. I mean, she's my friend now, maybe even my best friend..."

"How did it go when you went home?" Smiling, Naruto told her that it was a surprise.

Past

Umino Residence

Arriving home, Naruto finds Iruka with a huge smile on his face. Realizing why, he says, "You saw, didn't you?"

"I may be against you beating up kids, but you saved Hinata," said Iruka, with Naruto telling him that the academy was bad at not knowing about it and helping the Hyuga girl.

"Yeah, you're right...Those boys' parents came to me and told me about what you did."

"They did huh?"

"They wouldn't stop telling me to bring you over to them so they could give you a piece of their mind but I made sure they knew that those boys were the ones in the wrong." Looking at the table in the living room, Naruto notices a bag on top of it. When asked what it was, Iruka said that it was his new video game, to the boy's surprise.

"I thought I'd have to pay for the next time we went out for ramen."

"I know, but I thought about it and decided to reward you for what you did today." Hearing this, Naruto thanked Iruka before going to prepare dinner. "How did it feel to help her?"

"...It was alright," he replied before entering the kitchen. Peeking over, Iruka noticed something truly rare: Naruto smiling. He never smiled at all until now. Iruka concluded that Naruto felt good about helping Hinata.

"And I thought we both promised to be honest with each other. I guess I'll let it slide..."

Present

"Taking everything I've told you as of now...I found out after spending time with Hinata that it takes just one chance meeting to change someone as uncaring as me, with time and effort. No matter how many times I denied and rejected her friendship, she somehow got to me, way more than Iruka or the Third Hokage, even Old Man Teuchi and his daughter ever could. I became the me you see now." he told Ayane. In her mind, she felt a sort of change in her as Naruto told his story.

"One chance meeting huh..." Noticing this, Naruto smiles as he asked if she had a change in her just now.

"What? Not at all...Although that is an interesting story..." she replied as she looked away in order to hide her flushed face.

"Well, I told you what I wanted you to know. Telling you this, I'm sure that you'll change. Heck, maybe now we can be friends?"

"Allies for sure. Friends? You've got a long ways to go." Accepting her answer, Naruto gets up before telling her that they should get back to camp.

"No." Naruto looked at her in surprise. "I want to hear more of your stories. It's 9:45 at night, and I'm sure that you can tell me everything about you in three hours." Giving her a smile, the blond sits back down and decides to continue his story.

So Naruto has finally met Hinata, though he was pretty against a friendship with her. Come on, why would anyone want to be friends with him?

Naruto's overall personality in the past, as of now, was mostly antisocial. He hated the villagers who hate him back. The only ones he was somewhat okay with were the Third Hokage, the only reason why he's still in the village, and Iruka, who originally hated Naruto but grew to care for him as a proper guardian, though he rarely saw the blond smile until now.

From the TV news about The Avengers, Naruto truly aspires to be a hero, but only save those who don't hate him, which is truly unhero like. As a hero, even if there are those who hate you, only you can change them. Look at Rocky IV, Rocky went to Russia to fight Ivan Drago, with the crowd being against Rocky at first, until he changed their minds about him. In the end, he said, "If I can change, and you can change, then everybody can change!", which applies to Naruto.