Wheew. You decided to continue! Thank you for that!
Aug 2012 edit: Some small changes to some verbage her and there.
Talking
Shouting/Inner voice
Thoughts/flashback
This is me... still not owning Naruto.
II.
Naruto was having an interesting morning. His house seemed rather large and jumbled, the bathroom was in the wrong place, and he had slept on the couch for some reason, a couch he couldn't remember owning.
"When did I get that carpet?" the boy pondered, staring at the red and green fabric under his feet.
Finally giving up on remembering he wandered over to the suddenly full-sized kitchen and opened his ramen cabinet.
Pure horror flooded the blond child as he stared at a large assortment of cans and jars. None of which were ramen. In disbelief he shut the cabinet door, slapping himself on both cheeks before putting his hand back on the handle. Jerking the door open again Naruto blinked, still not comprehending his situation.
"Right... need to start the water for my ramen. Today is the exam." muttering to himself the boy turned to grab his trusty pot right. The lack of the well-worn handle meeting his hand finally brought the severity of his situation to the front of Naruto's mind.
The blood-curdling scream that erupted through the crisp morning air woke every citizen in a three-block radius of the apartment. It also continued for almost a minute as Naruto ran from window to window around his expanded apartment, making sure whatever noodle-thief had sneakily replaced his beloved substance knew their time left in this world was short. Iruka stumbled out of the closed bedroom door with wide-red eyes.
Blinking twice Naruto paused his shrieks to say "Good morning teacher." before taking a deep breath in preparation to continue.
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP!" Iruka practically pounced on the boy and slapped a hand over his mouth. "No more. NO MORE!"
Naruto struggled, trying to wrestle himself free enough to explain their dire situation. There was no RAMEN! How could they survive this desolate and unforgiving world without the long, stringy noodles and hearty broth. Finally jerking Iruka's hand away Naruto managed to expel their situation in one sentence.
"But teacher I woke up and there was this weird carpet and my pots are gone and OH MY GOD! Someone stole my RAMEN we have to go to the Hokage right now or they'll eat it all! But what if they ate it all I'll die if I can't eat ramen ever again please teacher you have to help meeee!"
Iruka's sleep-addled brain threw up its figurative arms and didn't even try to make sense of the rapid-fire statement. Trying to jump-start the stalled organ Iruka shook the blond, trying to make the endless tirade stop, but once the dam broke there was nothing that could be done about the torrent unleashed from Naruto's half-conscious self.
"NARUTO! SHUT UP!" finally snapping Iruka lifted the boy bodily into the air so they could look each other in the eye. "The ramen is right where you left it." shaking the boy as his eyes flickered over towards the cabinet as if expecting the foodstuffs to have suddenly righted themselves. "This is my house Naruto. Your ramen is fine back at your house."
Naruto completely stopped moving. Turning giant blue eyes back at his teacher the blond hung, stupefied for a full minute.
"Sooooo... where is your ramen?"
Iruka set the boy down gently before palming his face with both hands. Receiving a mental 'Told you so' from himself the teacher stumbled back to his bed. It was far, far, far to early in the morning to deal with Naruto. He was a wonderful kid, in small doses. At least Iruka was now certain that he would never have children of his own. Waving sleepily at Naruto as the boy followed him into the bedroom, refusing to stop pestering about his favorite treat, Iruka collapsed on the twin-sized mattress and prayed for oblivion. A quick glance at the clock on his way down drew a groan from the chunin.
4:30am.
Two hours later the pair exited the apartment and Iruka let Naruto drag him over to Ichiraku's. Secured in the knowledge that there was still ramen in Konoha Naruto cheerfully attacked the double-sized bowl of seafood ramen while happily chattering about the benefits of having such a wonderful substance several times a day. Iruka simply swirled his own child-size chicken ramen while silently urging Teuchi to hurry with his coffee. Not normally a fan of the substance Iruka was sure today was one of those days it wasn't an option to go without.
Three cups of coffee and two bowls of ramen later the two ninja were racing around the rooftops, Iruka's headband clasped tightly in Naruto's fist as the blond raced around practically exploding from laughter.
"Naruto you can't grab a ninja's headband." Iruka chastised after managing to corner the boy and reclaim his pilfered item. "This is a symbol that the wearer is a ninja of Konoha and has reached a level of maturity where they can take responsibility for their actions. That they've grown-up."
"But teacher, I've been doing all that grown-up stuff since I left the orphanage like seven-thousand-years ago." Naruto whined, making a half-hearted swipe at the band again.
"Ah ah ah." Iruka chided as he nimbly avoided the boys hands. "You'll get your own when you graduate. Speaking of which, why don't you hurry on ahead and practice your 'Clone Technique', that's the only one we didn't manage to practice last night."
"Awwww fine. Sure you don't wanna race there?" Naruto's smile almost made Iruka give in.
"I'm afraid I can't Naruto. How about we try to get a game of tag going after the exam?" Iruka tempted the boy. The game was one that Naruto stood almost head-and-shoulders above the rest of the students in, and after they got going most would forget to ignore him or treat him differently in the adrenalin haze.
"But we'll be all grown-up today, teacher. And you grown-ups don't play tag." Naruto replied mournfully, his expressive face completely unable to hide the disappointment that flooded the formerly bright features.
"Protocol be damned." Iruka decided after seeing the boys face fall.
"Ohhh reeeeaaallly?" plastering a grin on his own face Iruka slapped the boy gently on the back while cheering "Tag!" before running towards the school. The chase that followed left more then a few citizens shaking their fists and at least one line of laundry in the dirt. Pacing himself the chunin let Naruto tag him several times before guiding them to the school right before the bell rang.
"Hah! See that! This is why grown-ups shouldn't try to play kid games." Naruto squealed, hands behind his head after having managed to slip into the school right before Iruka could re-tag him.
"I guess so, Naruto. Now hurry to class and don't forget what we studied last night." the boy waved as he charged into his classroom. The shouts and crashes that followed obviously caused by some rash action or another from the boy. Iruka caught something about "Sauske's first KISS!" before he turned down the hall to the examination room.
Grabbing Mizuki's notes on the exam Iruka felt a small stab of regret. The final portion of the four part exam would be the demonstration of the 'Clone' technique. The one ninjutsu that he hadn't practiced with Naruto last night.
"He'll be alright." the teacher reasoned to himself. "Not spectacular, but he can do this." something made him wish he had told the boy that. Shaking off the dark premonition Iruka grabbed some of the required supplies and headed out to the school-yard to set up for the exams.
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
"Have to beat Sakura, have to beat Sakura, have to beat Sakura." Hinata continued the mantra as the class filed in and took their seats. Naruto came in practically with the bell, but that was hardly new. Catching herself staring Hinata shifted her gaze to her rival.
This desire to surpass someone was... different. Hinata had never been driven to succeed at something and the sensation was enlightening. Even though she knew she couldn't beat the pinkette Hinata wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't at least try. This wasn't a two-hour sparring session with her incredibly gifted cousin where she was doomed to fail while her father watched in muted disapproval.
Her home in the Hyuga compound was never a place one could relax, the occupants abilities to spy on each other even through walls meant that her slip-ups and failures were often seen and discussed by the entirety of the main branch of her family. Not obviously, but the looks of embarrassment many of the main family members were clear enough to be a second language to Hinata. This had reinforced her naturally shy behavior to the point where she rarely spoke or did anything besides study in an effort to avoid making mistakes.
Her father, Hiashi Hyuga, might even show a brief glimmer of pride if Hinata preformed exceptionally in this exam. Holding on to the tiny threads of hope the pale girl furiously ran through the notes she had been studying with unnaturally vigor ever since hearing her teachers discussion. If the test followed their normal written exam format she would normally be anywhere from three to six points behind Sakura, who of course would be a point or so behind the Uchiha genius. Hinata's taijutsu, while not good enough for her family, was far ahead of the rest of the girls in fact only Sasuke, who had received a similar form of family training before the unfortunate incident that took almost the entirety of them from this world, forms could be compared to her own. Of course her lack of determination and drive on top of her small body and reach often let the larger, stronger boys win their practice bouts. But Hinata had no doubts that she could test out higher then Sakura in that portion exam as they were tested on form and not actual combat.
Which left the two areas they both showed a keen grasp of as their real battle. The weapons and ninjutsu portions. Hinata knew Sakura's chakra control was almost perfect, her 'Byakugan' could and had witnessed it on many occasions, particularly when she was studying her classmate to refine her own control. Sakura was better, Hinata knew that, but hopefully the margin would be slight enough that their scores would be almost identical. Much also depended on the jutsu they were required to perform, a simple 'Transformation' or 'Replacement' technique they could both pull off perfectly for full marks. Well, probably, but the Hyuga quickly crushed that tiny insecure voice before she convinced herself otherwise. If they were tested on a 'Clone' technique however, it would come down to who could produce the most perfect clones, Hinata wasn't sure how many Sakura could or would create. The minimum for an exam like this would be two or three, and unless a certain dark-haired, evil-eyed boy was watching Hinata felt fairly safe predicting Sakura would only preform the minimum.
Weapons. Neither Sakura nor Hinata had shone more then normal proficiency with the academy's required equipment. They both could hit targets with either kunai or shurkien with eighty-five percent or higher average. Only Sasuke's average was higher, an impressive ninety-seven percent. After multitasking reading and throwing practice kunai at the target in her room Hinata was hopeful about her chances to pass the drooling fan-girl but refused to jump to conclusions, or really expect her hopes were as grounded in reality as she thought.
Eventually it came down to one comparison. Could Hinata pass Sakura enough in the taijutsu and ninjutsu portions of the exam to weigh out the girls advantage in the written portion. Try as she might Hinata couldn't bring herself to believe she had more then a fifty-fifty chance of success, if her odds were even that good.
"I don't get it. Whats so good about you any-" Naruto's voice drew Hinata's attention like a magnet and the sight that greeted her almost made the Hyuga pass out for the entirety of the exam.
Naruto, for some reason or another, had decided to hop onto the desk in front of Sasuke. Of course, even that unruly behavior was not enough for the class clown of Konoha, he had to stick his face inches from Sasuke's while spouting off. Oddly his voice (heard for the first time in the room that day) was loud enough to startle Kiba who was seated in the row ahead of them. Kiba, not being the brightest or most spatially aware trainee had jumped to his feet to holler at his, as usual, ridiculously brightly dressed classmate. The sudden and ill-advised movement had caused Kiba to push Naruto forward.
Face to face with Sasuke.
There was a moment of golden silence as everyone in the class sat stunned in disbelief. A crack could be heard from three different areas of the room as three different girls hearts broke at the sight of their idol's losing their infinitely precious first kiss. Immediately following there was several blast of murderous rage directed at a sputtering, red-faced blond.
"NARUTO!" Ino and Sakura's shrieks were deafening.
"Kiba!" Naruto snarled, whipping around to stare at the un-witting instigator of his current crisis.
"Sasuke's first KISS!" Choji was beside himself with laughter. "Ohhhhoh, oh ho ho! Ahha hahaha! You should see the look on your face Ino! Shikamaru.. hahaha... You should have seen this... OH haha..." curling around his plump belly the boy ended up rolling off of his chair and under the desk, his uncontrollable laughter still drifting out in a muted manner from under the wood.
Everyone but Ino, Sakura, Sauske, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata soon followed the suit. The two girl's who had just witnessed the love of their young lives lips brutally ripped away from them conformed in a flustered, spiteful pack on the thief. Naruto's face quickly went from rage filled to panicked as he realized he would not be able to claim retribution from Kiba before the two furious girls reached him. Sasuke, for the first time in the history of the class, had actually half-risen from his seat to rip his classmate to pieces. But upon seeing his resident fan-base descending on the helpless individual the Uchiha decided his own hands didn't need to be dirtied. Lowering himself back into the chair the boy did crack a brief smirk as Naruto's pummeling began. Shikamaru's eyes opened for a moment, took in the scene, and then closed deliberately as even his usually bored face couldn't hold back a grin.
Hinata simply sat very, very still and focused on staying awake. The image of Naruto and Sasuke's lips pressed together was proving more difficult to push from her mind then she would have thought possible. She was fairly certain her face could be used to fry eggs at the moment as well.
"Now if that had been me and Naruto..." Hinata's mind went white.
When colors and sounds started making sense again the still flustered girl managed to look for her crush. The class had settled down and Iruka was almost as red-faced as she had been moments ago as he roared at the blond troublemaker. Still unable to make out the majority of the words Hinata settled for reading the instigator's always open face.
"He's ok. A little disturbed, but he's ok... not like me. I'd die if Iruka or Mizuki were yelling at me." satisfied Naruto would be alright Hinata tried to look over her notes one last time.
"This is wrong." Shino Aburame's monotonous voice snapped the girls head up.
Following his finger, no-one had seen his pretty grey-blue eyes since their second year when he started wearing the thick black glasses that he now never went without, to a small section of her notes on chakra theory Hinata re-read the portion.
"A-are you s-s-sure?" she hesitantly questioned.
Shino's reply was to draw a book from his satchel. With quick, practiced movements the boy laid the book out, grasped a tab sticking out inconspicuously from the pages, and flipped open to the chapter they had been studying during that day earlier in the week. Thin fingers splayed out over the white pages filled with tiny, scrawling black symbols as he searched efficiently for the phrase. Finding it Shino turned the book at an angle towards her and left his finger as an indicator of the passages location. Laying her own hand on the page made their index fingers inadvertently brush.
"S-s-sorry." Hinata gushed, mortified at her clumsiness while drawing her hand speedily to her chest, attempting to bow at the same time. "I'm sorry Naruto! I didn't mean to cheat on you, I'll understand if you never want to talk to me again."
"Read." Shino replied, still lacking almost any emotion.
Hesitantly Hinata uncurled and carefully underlined the passage with her own small, pale digits. Shino was correct. After reading quietly Hinata looked up and gave him a small, uncertain smile before quickly editing her notes. Normally at this point she would go back to idly watching Naruto preform more rambunctious behavior but something stopped her. Looking down at the notes in her hands Hinata realized, if one section of her notes was wrong others might be as well. And while the painfully shy girl might usually have waited to go back over them at home there was no time for that now, not if she wanted to beat Sakura. Swallowing a lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat she turned back to Shino.
"U-umm... c-could you h-help me review ma-my n-n-notes?" she squeaked, already starting to bow in apology for disturbing her silent classmate.
Shino didn't move for a moment. Hinata's head fell but before she could begin her stammering apology she heard a quite rustle of paper. Looking up Hinata saw her notes in one of Shino's hands while the other practically blurred over the papers. Watching in awe Hinata heard Iruka finally stop yelling at Naruto and start class. Peeking towards the front she saw Sakura waltz down, swinging her hips just a little extra for Sasuke, and preform the 'Transformation' technique. Leaving the class seeing double as she overlapped her own form with a copy of their teachers. Confused Hinata checked the clock, the exam's weren't suppose to start till after lunch. Watching a moment longer she realized Naruto had gotten them all a last minute review. Turning back to Shino she saw, almost in disbelief, that he was holding the stack of notes back towards her.
Taking the pile of papers Hinata asked "Are th-there any m-more inconsistencies in m-my n-notes?"
Shino proceeded to spread the papers out on the desk before her, pointedly looking at the line forming for their practice session, before taking a pen and marking a few sections. Looking over the papers again Shino seemed to exude an aura of... contentment, as he pulled his own notes out and marked a few sections. Sliding his notes over on top of her own the silent boy in his light blue trench-coat rose to join the line.
"The basics of team-work are to provide what your team-mates are missing. Be that information or anything else. Our class is a team." he stated.
"Thank y-you!" Hinata exlaimed, quickly re-writing a few of her notes to reflect the Aburame's before rising herself.
The class quickly passed through the review. Naruto's use of his 'Sexy' technique instead of the requested 'Transformation' resulted in him spending the rest of the class period tied to his chair directly in front of Iruka's desk with a 'Silence' genjutsu placed on him, a technique Iruka had the village genjutsu mistress, Kurenai Yuhi, develop specifically for use on the boy. It stopped him from talking while still allowing him to hear or raise his hand if he had a question. while Iruka tried to pound the reviewing material home with the slightly-dense boy.
Hinata had fixed her notes and returned Shino's before pouring over the corrected information. Looking over them Hinata was fairly certain Shino had just given her correct answers to at least two questions that she otherwise would have missed. The gap between her and her pink-haired rival was closing. And Hinata felt oddly accomplished, she had interacted with a classmate. He didn't even seem to hate her and went out of his way to help fix her notes. Now ready and with her usually fractured confidence buoyed Hinata waited for the exam impatiently.
Her quiet urging to the clock eventually did the trick and the bell rung to signal lunch. The class rose and made their way outside at varying speeds. Naruto and Kiba practically tearing down walls to escape the confining building, Shino and Shikamaru moving barely fast enough to qualify as a walk. Sasuke strutted calmly with his fan-girls, Sakura and Ino, falling in line. Clearly marking their progress through the building with copious puddles of drool.
Securing her notes and supplies Hinata scurried out the door behind the rest of her classmates. Clearing the academy doors she blinked a few times in the sudden brightness and heat that the late spring sun threw off. Shading her pale eyes the girl made her way out of habit over to the shade of the swinging tree, named such after the swing that had been installed the year her class started at the academy. Lowering herself down onto a particularly thick root Hinata pulled one of the two lunchboxes she had prepared out and prepared to eat. A growling sound made the girl look around hurriedly and then almost fall over as she recognized the boy swinging lightly back and forth.
Blond hair stood at varying degrees of attention as a whisker-marked face pressed lightly into the coarse rope holding the swing. His normal orange jacket had been removed and laid out on the board that made the seat of the swing behind him. The black undershirt was slightly damp and clung to the boy as he slowly rocked back and forth, brilliant blue eyes staring ahead without focus from a face that had seen far to much of the nature of humanity for its few years. Hinata felt the rush of blood towards her head start from the bottoms of her feet, a deliciously sweet shiver that only Naruto provoked. Glancing down she still saw his legs, drawn up to keep from dragging his blue sandals through the dirt. She had never seen his ankles so clearly before, the smooth, darkened skin of his feet stretched taut over the small knob of bone before it continued either down to his calloused toes, or disappeared up the bright orange of his pants. The shiver ran up and down her body, ricocheted off her shoulders and chest to impact directly on Hinata's heart.
"He's so beautiful." she whispered even in the confines of her head, lunchbox laying forgotten on her knees.
"Oh! Sorry I didn't see you there Hinata." his voice broke the spell, but Hinata couldn't remember how long she had been staring at him. Somehow the boy had moved from his seat on the swing to crouching about a foot and a half from her, jacket slung over one shoulder as he smiled.
"I can leave if you want, don't let me interrupt your lunch." the boy continued, a pointed growl from his own stomach reminding Hinata of the situation she had been preparing for since the day she saw him.
Her fingers spasmed, trying to reach her satchel while her voice suddenly ran away, laughing at her as she tried desperately to catch it. All she could manage was a squeak as the lunchbox perched precariously on her knees suddenly teleported almost two feet in the air. As it rotated, showing the lovingly prepared ingredients to Naruto, his golden-brown hands slipped under it right before it fell into them. Almost as if by fate. Staring wide eyed at the fingers that now wrapped around the small tin Hinata felt her heart skip a beat, or maybe just stop all together. Her voice was still racing around, daring her to try and catch it.
"Here." the boy said, his smile suddenly seeming forced. "Lucky I'm a little quicker then gravity today, eh?"
"NO! Keep it, I wanted to give it to you!" Hinata practically screamed, furiously trying to grab her voice as it danced, just out of reach. "Please take it."
She felt the metal, warm from his hands, placed gently in her own cool, slightly quivering fingers. She felt the wind come off the boy as he rose, still with that horrid, forced smile that made her feel sick drawn on his face. Turning he started to walk away, waving back at her over his shoulder.
"It was for you." she whispered, one hand holding the box her crush had just returned. The other resting on the lid of the second she had made, just for today.
Thinking back Hinata remembered her first few glimpses of the boy.
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
"Come on Hinata." called to the five year old still staring heart-broken at the racks of candy that she had just been denied.
"B-but Mommy... I just want one, promise!" the child wailed, trying very, very hard to show her sincerity.
"No hunny. I don't want you to spoil your appetite. Don't you want to have some of Mommy's dumplings later?" reasoned her mother.
Sucking her thumb for a moment the tiny girl finally decided that eating dumplings with her mother would be far more enjoyable then candy, even if it was delicious. Nodding at the older woman Hinata broke into a tottering run and snatched her mothers larger hand in her own.
"Lets go right now, Mommy." she stated, pulling with her meager weight in the direction of the Hyuga compound.
"Not just yet darling. Mommy has to pick up some supplies first, otherwise there will be no dumplings!" plastering a mask of fake horror on her face the older Hyuga felt it crack and crumble at her daughters exaggerated reactions.
Gripping the girls hand she continued on with her shopping. The girl toddling along at her side.
Hinata was happy to be out in the market. She didn't get out of the compound much so every outing was a wonderful experience. There were so many new sights, smells, and textures for the child to revel in. She was running her fingers up and down a bolt of cloth when she saw the most amazing thing her eyes had feasted on in her short five year life.
There was a boy running through the road, but unlike any other boy she had seen his hair shone like gold, and there were three whisker like marks on his face. The girl couldn't help but think of the kittens she had seen earlier that day. Though if she had to pick for some reason she would much rather take the boy home to play with. She understood the concept of 'playing' from what her mother explained when they passed a park on their way here. It had taken a while for her to understand that most children her age would run around together instead of spend their days learning proper etiquette or forms. If she could though Hinata wished to run her fingers through that strikingly beautiful hair. Jerking her mothers hand Hinata's other hand forgot the bolt of cloth and pointed towards the golden-haired child.
"Mommy, mommy, mommy! Look, that boy has yellow hair!" Hinata cheered.
The naturally shy girl was practically bouncing at this point, causing her mother to send an off-hand inquisitive glance towards the object that could illicit such a response. Upon laying eyes on the only blond in sight her eyes hardened. Kneeling down in front of her daughter the woman sighed and pulled her face towards herself instead of the boy that skipped lightly down the road.
"Hinata. You should ignore that boy. He's dangerous." she said, unsure of how to elude the third Hokage's decree that no-one could divulge the information of the demon fox's container to their children.
"But mommy! He has the most beautiful gold hair! Can I have hair like that?" the girl complained, trying to turn her head back to drink in the sight of the bright headed boy while absently running a hand through her own midnight-blue tresses.
"No baby, your hair is like mommy's. Don't you like mommy's hair?" the woman inquired.
"I like mommy's hair... Could mommy make her hair yellow?" the girl said after a moment, face falling slightly at the older woman's sigh and negative reply.
"That's ok mommy. I like your hair too!" the girl said, not wanting to make her mother upset but still trying to stare at the golden locks that stood on the boys head.
"Why thank you baby. I also like your hair!" running a hand through the mentioned silky threads her mother rose, mumbling something about a "Phase." before continuing her interrupted shopping.
Hinata simply watched the boy happily run to and fro on his meandering way down the street. Stopping here to poke at a bug, or there to try and stand on his head. He avoided the stalls and most of the bigger individual's that made their way along the road. Leaning out the door of the store Hinata watched until the boy finally turned a corner and disappeared, leaving the most particular empty feeling in her chest. Sighing the girl turned back to watching her mother shop. Thoughts that once danced with dumplings now swirling around her and a small blond laughing and chasing each other.
-3 years later-
Hinata had a special job today. She was to go out to the market by herself and pick out a new coat! It was the girls first time allowed out of the house since a bad man tried to run away with her. The happy child didn't notice the three Hyuga clan members that shadowed her every move. Skipping down the street the girl was oddly reminded of something that happened a long time ago. Something that she couldn't place, but knew that golden hair was a part of. Glancing around she didn't see anyone with the mentioned color around. Brushing the thoughts off she continued towards the shop her father had recommended.
On the way she decided to be adventurous and take a slight detour through a particular alley. Squealing at her own daring the girl ran through the littering of rubbish and crates. Dancing around them and laughing with herself. The end of the game came all to soon for the young Hyuga as she popped back out onto the far side of the alley. Glancing around she tried to remember where to go. Finally deciding to wander around until she stumbled across something familiar.
The road she was on had a darker feel to it the the one she left. Not scary, just... it felt like the rooms in the Hyuga compound that were never used anymore, namely her mothers rooms. An empty, lonely feeling that Hinata didn't particularly enjoy, but empathize with since her mother had disappeared. Walking up the almost empty street she looked around again, hoping something would stand out.
The one thing she hadn't expected to see was gold.
There it was, like a dream the spiky sea-urchin cast from a piece of the sun followed a large man with a green-flack jacket into a small restaurant. Hinata couldn't stop her feet as they chased after them, only managing to take control right before she passed under the cloths that spelled out the name 'Ichiraku's' across the opening. Looking in she saw a few small tables scattered about and a long bar with stools, She could only see three people inside. One was the biggest man she had seen in her life, he was dressed in a white apron and stood behind the bar chatting with the man wearing the flack-jacket who was seated at one of the bar stools now that she was closer she recognized her teacher, Iruka. Beside him was the shining boy holding a menu in his dirty hands. Dressed in a scruffy dark t-shirt and shorts he look dusty, warm, and thoroughly alive. His animated hands swung back and forth as he laid down the menu and shouted something to the man behind the counter. Turning he continued to talk in the loudest voice Hinata had heard.
"Thank you Iruka! I haven't had ramen since this morning!" at this comment the man in the flack-jacket simply sighed.
"You should eat more then ramen Naruto. Some vegetables or fruit would be better for you. You don't wanna stop growing do you?" the shocked look on the boys face plucked on Hinata's heart.
"NOOOOOOO! Oi, Teuchi! Put some vegetables in my ramen!" the boy shouted, hopping to his feet on top of the stool.
There was a shout of approval from the kitchen before the boy managed to drop back to his seat and continue.
"So Iruka you said I'm going to a new class?" grabbing a pair of chopsticks from the cup in front of him the boy named Naruto fixed the man with a piercing blue gaze.
"Yes, Naruto. The Hokage agreed to move you into the class I'm teaching full-time instead of the group being taught by Korchi." Iruka looked up as the man in the apron came back carrying two giant steaming bowls.
"Really!" the boy was spinning his chair around and around while talking. "That's great! Now I'll get to see you everyday!"
"Hello there little miss!" the big man suddenly called to her, interrupting the shared laughter of the two seated at his counter. "Would you like to come in?"
Hinata froze in panic. She was suppose to be buying a new coat, not watching Naruto. Squeaking she turned to go but a second call stopped her.
"Come have some ramen! Teuchi makes the best ramen in Konoha! It's even better then cup-ramen!" the boy said, a smile bright enough to be compared to the sun plastered over his face.
Hinata couldn't leave, not when he asked her to stay. She didn't know why his voice carried so much weight, so much power over her, but before she could consider another course of action she was seated on the other side of Iruka from him and had a steaming bowl of noodles in front of her. Once she was seated Iruka recognized her and after greeting her by name turned to Naruto.
"This is Hinata, she is a student in your new class!"
"Really! Nice to meet you Hinata!" the boy said, and Hinata wondered where her voice went.
"She's rather shy, Naruto." Iruka chided.
The rest of the meal passed as a blur for Hinata. All she could remember was the cheerful sound of Naruto's voice as he and Iruka talked for what might have been forever. The warmth of the steam that rose from the bowl before her, the smell of thick broth and vegetables that permeated the air. When a hand fell on her shoulder and she saw one of her fathers retainers it even brought a sense of regret that she wouldn't be able to just sit and listen anymore.
"Come, Hinata." the man said, his pale eyes expressionless as he laid a few coins on the counter near her un-touched bowl. "I'll make sure she gets home Iruka." he continued to her teacher.
"Alright." the man said before turning back to his newest student, her newest classmate.
Rising in a daze Hinata let the man lead her to the door.
"And Iruka." her escort said, looking out at the street. Hinata looked back to see her teacher turn around again.
"Be careful who see's you with... that. I can overlook it, but I'm sure Hiashi would make more then a tiny scene if he knew you were treating his daughter at the same table as... it." his words were cold and sharp, making Hinata shiver after bathing in the warmth the pair at the counter threw carelessly about.
"I see, thank you." waving Iruka turned back to Naruto as Hinata's escort pulled her away from the ramen stand and off to the store to complete her original task.
"I'm so glad you brought me out for food Iruka! It's the nicest thing anyone's done for me!" Naruto's words and laughter echoed down the street after the retreating girl.
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
After that incident Naruto had joined their class. It wasn't unheard of for students to switch classes, not that it was commonplace either. Hinata had taken those last words of Naruto's to heart and started preparing two lunches with the idea of offering him one. Somehow the opportunity had never arisen that first year, or the one after that, or the one after that. Her natural shyness and Naruto's oblivious nature had formed a sort of barrier that neither were able to breach. Not until today, and yet there the small tin sat, nestled in the palm of her hand as the boy she had admired for most of her life walked away hungry.
Something wet landed on her hand. Looking down Hinata realized the world was blurry and warped. Water fell from her eyes, splattering silently onto her hands and handi-work. Somehow it was just too much effort to rise, to much to wipe them away, the most she could do at the moment was breath and try not to let the sounds of her pain be heard.
II.
I realize Naruto was suppose to be in the same class as the rest of the students but the flashbacks wouldn't line up if I did so. (Hinata would have known his name for the second one and I still wanted him to be an elusive, almost dream-like individual for her) It also would make sense for several classes to be going as only nine new ninja a year would make it rather difficult for Konoha to replace any losses through retirement, permanent damage, or death of their primary source of income.
Iruka and Naruto have a much more brotherly relation in this fic, I hope you all don't mind as it will play less of a part in the story once the teams are formed. I also mentioned before, Naruto is slightly smarter in this fic. He's not a genius, still dead last in the class, but that is more due to his inability to study in a sense then because he's dumb.
Hinata's mother not liking Naruto at first sight: Why should she? She has her own family issues to deal with and doesn't want her daughter to get drawn into the dislike that trails after Naruto, she may just be concerned for her daughters safety. Does this make her an evil, bad person? I don't think so. She is protecting her child, even if the threats are imaginary. Naruto's situation is unfortunate, maybe down the line if she hadn't died Hinata's mother would have reached out to the boy when her daughter continued to be fascinated with him. We'll never know (till one of you writes a story about it. Go. I dare you) but I don't think less of her character in this particular situation as out of a whole village no-one ever stood up for the boy in his daily life.
Finally... Why does everyone assume Hinata's mother was a saint? We know nothing of her character except some fond memories (people tend to forget flaws in others as time goes by). I'm not saying she was an evil person, heck if anything she was probably a fantastic mother, but that doesn't mean she has to be a saint. Besides, now you've seen a slightly different Mother figure for Hinata, and in the end that's why we have Fanfiction, right?
Thanks for sticking with me!
~SimplyWaters~
