Natsumi waited almost impatiently at the swing in the Academy grounds for Hinata. Graduates were required to fill out a Ninja Registration Form and get their photograph taken there, so she knew they would meet there if she arrived early. She was anxious to tell Hinata the good news that she had graduated too. Waiting with patience was apparently not something she was good at, so she ended up dozing off.
"...chan? Natsumi-chan? Wake up," someone shook her gently as they called her name. Groggily lifting her head from its slumped position, her blurry vision soon cleared to show Hinata looking at her worriedly. "Are you okay? Why are you sleeping here?" she asked once she got her attention.
"Good morning, Hinata-chan..." Natsumi greeted, stifling a huge yawn. "I was waiting for you..."
"Waiting for me? Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
"Tell you... Oh yeah!" Natsumi perked up as she hopped off the swing. "I graduated, Hinata-chan!"
"You... You did?" Hinata muttered in disbelief.
"Of course! As if the great Uzumaki Natsumi will give up on being a ninja!" she bragged as she puffed out her chest proudly.
"I'm so glad...!" Hinata gave her a big hug as her eyes teared up with joy. "I thought I was going to be alone as a ninja..."
"There, there," Natsumi patted her back soothingly. "You know I won't abandon you. That's a promise, and I never go back on my word!"
"Because that's my ninja way," Hinata said together with her. She broke the hug and giggled as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"That's right! That's our ninja way! Now let's go and let the entire village know about us!" Natsumi let the way towards the Academy building.
***Break Line***
After they had their photographs taken, Natsumi was frowning at both their photographs. Natsumi's photograph had her simply giving a big, wide grin. She was dissatisfied as she felt she could have done something more with it, something like putting on face paint and striking a pose. She felt her photograph was just too normal, not 'Uzumaki Natsumi' enough. Hinata's photograph was even worse to her eyes and true to her self, she made it known vocally to her.
"What's this, Hinata-chan? This doesn't look good at all!" Natsumi complained when she saw Hinata's photograph.
"It's no good?" Hinata frowned, poking her index fingers together. It looked fine to her, but maybe because she was not too particularly concerned with how it turned out.
"Of course not! I understand you're shy, but what is this posture? Have more confidence in yourself! Show everyone else that you're not someone people should mess with!" The image in both their minds were utterly different when she said that, though. Natsumi imagined Hinata standing over a pile of beaten enemies and laughing boisterously in victory, which the real Hinata would never do. Hinata had a much more modest image of Natsumi giving her a hug and the affectionate cheek rub as she successfully defeated an enemy, which the real Natsumi would likely do. "Let's take another picture!"
"A little too late there. I've already handed the photograph to Hokage-sama," the cameraman told them.
"No way!" Natsumi exclaimed. "We haven't even decided if it was okay or not!"
"It's alright, Natsumi-chan. It's just a picture," Hinata calmed her down, giggling at her pouting face.
"Then, then, can we take another picture for ourselves?" Natsumi asked the cameraman.
"Sure, but you'll be paying out of your own pockets for this," he replied, having only gotten payment from the Hokage to take the photographs of all the ninja graduates.
"No problem! Make it two, for each of us!"
"Alright, then take your pose." He did not have to wait long as Natsumi slung her arm over Hinata's shoulders. The camera flashed twice, indicating two shots. "Now this is a good shot. Looking good, both of you," he appraised the developed photographs. When he handed them over, both girls smiled brightly. Natsumi had pulled Hinata in for a hug, pressing her cheek against Hinata's own. She was winking at the camera with a victory sign in her free hand and a huge grin on her face. Hinata did not do any big movements, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. She was blushing lightly with a very happy smile on her face. It was a lot better than the reluctant smile in her original photograph.
***Break Line***
Natsumi smiled without a care in her seat while Hinata fidgeted uncomfortably in her own as Hiruzen inspected their Ninja Registration Forms. There were no problems to be found though Natsumi was constantly whining about how she wanted to look cooler in her photograph. Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open and a young boy rushed in wielding a shuriken in his hand and shouting that the title of the Fifth Hokage belonged to him, Konohamaru. All the tension immediately dissipated when he tripped on his own two feet and slammed his face flat on the floor. As he covered his face in pain, a ninja dressed in casual clothes and wearing round sunglasses came in and looked around in slight confusion.
"Are you alright, omago-sama?" he asked.
"Is this a trap?" Konohamaru exclaimed.
"Who is this kid?" Natsumi leaned in to whisper to Hinata who shook her head, showing she did not know either. Apparently her voice was not low enough as everyone heard her.
'This kid is...!' the ninja recognized Natsumi. 'The Kyuubi brat. It's the failure I really hate.'
"I got it. You two did something, didn't you?" Konohamaru got right in both girls' faces and pointed accusingly at them. A tick mark appeared on Natsumi's forehead at the baseless accusation.
"You just tripped on your own!" she snapped at him as she grabbed a fistful of his very long scarf threateningly.
"Hey! Let go of him! He is the grandson of the great Third Hokage-sama!" the ninja exclaimed.
"What's the matter? Why don't you hit me if you can!" Konohamaru taunted when Natsumi paused to absorb that information. "You're no match for the grandson of a Hokage!"
"Like I care about that, you idiot!" she delivered a punch to the back of his head, knocking him down.
"Natsumi-chan!" Hinata exclaimed, appalled that her best friend would actually hit him. She turned to the Hokage with a fearful expression but it was quickly replaced with confusion when he did not seem offended at all. She watched as the ninja helped Konohamaru to his feet and lectured him about his status as the grandson of the Hokage and could not associate himself with someone like Natsumi as no good would come out of dealing with her. In that very same breath, he encouraged him to associate with Hinata more as she was of similar status like him and might learn something from her. He sealed the deal by claiming that he, Ebisu the elite teacher, was never wrong and that the quickest path to becoming the Fifth Hokage was through his teachings. A huge frown appeared on her face as she wanted to defend Natsumi. Whatever courage she had to speak her mind was drained when she saw the hurt look on Natsumi's face as she quietly left the room. She chose to accompany her in order to brighten up the mood.
***Break Line***
As they wandered through the village, Hinata saw firsthand the cold looks the villagers gave Natsumi who pointedly ignored them. Throughout the years, she had constantly heard about the large amount of hate aimed towards Natsumi but never saw for herself exactly how bad it was until now. During their Academy years, the two of them had never walked with each other through the village, not even once. Kou would always be there to escort her home when lessons ended. Even when she joined Natsumi in training sessions, they had never gone through the village. She hid her shock when she heard whispers about why she, a Main House Hyuuga, was hanging out with that 'thing'. They did not even bother referring to Natsumi as a person. That struck a nerve in Natsumi as she whirled around with a scathing look to glare at the person who said that.
"As if any of you losers know anything about Hinata-chan and me! You wanna talk trash about me, fine! See if I care! But don't you dare talk bad about Hinata-chan!" she yelled. She grabbed Hinata's hand and angrily marched away from the harsh whispers she could clearly hear directed towards her. She led them to a quiet place in the park where the both of them could relax and for her to cool her head.
"Why do they dislike you so much, Natsumi-chan? Do you know why?" Hinata asked, curious about it but also wanting to help her best friend. "Whenever I ask anyone, they always avoid the subject." She was surprised when Natsumi visibly stiffened. "Natsumi-chan?"
"They're right about one thing. It's not something you should know," Natsumi replied with a weak smile in an attempt to placate Hinata but grew silent in shame when her eyes showed nothing but hurt at her refusal to answer her question.
"Please, Natsumi-chan. You know something. Please tell me." Hinata hated that plastic smile on Natsumi's face. She had seen it far too many times during their Academy years. It was a clear indication that Natsumi was feeling hurt and refused to show anyone, not even Hinata herself, her true feelings.
"I'm sorry. I really can't tell you," Natsumi averted her eyes from Hinata. By doing so, she failed to see a look of comprehension that appeared on her face.
"Does it have something to do with the nine-tailed fox?" Hinata hazarded a wild guess. It was true that she had asked many times over the years why her clan members constantly told her to avoid interacting with Natsumi. They always told her to forget about it or they would change the subject immediately. Those were the answers she got each and every time. She almost forgot as it was years ago but she vaguely recalled her guardian Kou mentioning the Kyuubi. When she had asked, he told her the same thing everyone else said and that was to forget about it. That was the only thing different from all the monotonous answers.
"H-Hinata-chan... Why... Why do you know that...?" Hinata could not hold back her gasp when Natsumi turned to look her. Her face was full of fear and she had turned extremely pale. She had all but confirmed the Kyuubi was involved in the villager's hatred for her. "I didn't want you to know... Not you... Especially not you, Hinata-chan..."
"Natsumi-chan, I-"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Natsumi apologized desperately as she bolted from the park.
"Natsumi-chan, wait!" Hinata called for her friend, shocked that she would actually run away from her. She gave chase but quickly lost sight of her. She wanted to use her Byakugan to locate her but knowing Natsumi, she would still find a way to hide from her if she did not want to be found. Downtrodden at seeing Natsumi so desperate to get away from her, Hinata resolved to get to the heart of the matter and lend her aid should she ever need it.
***Break Line***
Hinata waited at Natsumi's apartment until late afternoon. Natsumi had given her a spare key as a sign of unbreakable trust in her but she did not enter as a sign of courtesy. When Natsumi saw her waiting outside, she almost fled again but was stopped when Hinata grabbed her hand.
"Can we talk inside, please?" Hinata pleaded with Natsumi who could never turn down a request from her best friend. She nodded reluctantly and both girls settled in the living room in uncomfortable silence. "Where did you go?" Hinata attempted to break the ice.
"I met Konohamaru along the way. He wanted to be my underling or something like that. So as a present, I thought him how to do the Henge. He told about his dream to become Hokage, but I told him he had to beat me to do that. Then he quit being my underling and called me his rival," Natsumi had forgotten about the dark mood surrounding them as she got excited telling her afternoon tale.
"That's great, Natsumi-chan," Hinata smiled for her friend but it quickly dimmed when she remembered what she was here for. "Natsumi-chan, will you tell me what the connection between the Kyuubi and you is?"
"You know the story about how the Fourth Hokage defeated the monster fox, right?" Natsumi relented to Hinata's pleading. At her nod, she took a deep breath to drop the bomber. "Long story short, he didn't kill it. He had to seal it to defeat it, and the seal is me. That's why all the villagers hate me. They think I'm the monster fox."
"Oh." That was all Hinata said. She looked surprised, but nothing beyond that.
"'Oh'? That's all you can say? Are you making fun of me?" Natsumi snapped, slamming her hands on the table as she stood up and startling Hinata. "I never should have told you anything about this! I-" She was interrupted by a hug from Hinata.
"It's alright, Natsumi-chan. I understand why you're scared. This doesn't change anything between us. You don't have to be scared of losing our friendship. I'll always be there for you, and that's a promise. And I never go back on my word, for that is our ninja way. Thank you for sharing this huge secret with me."
"Thanks... Thanks so much, Hinata-chan..." Natsumi thanked her from the bottom of her heart.
"...My family has seals too," Hinata revealed a secret about her family when they separated.
"Eh?" Natsumi was surprised at the sudden revelation. She stayed silent as Hinata explained about the cursed seal the Hyuuga clan possessed. Although most of the descriptive stuff went in one ear and out the other, she got the gist of it. It was a horrible seal that only served to enslave the Branch House Hyuuga members. "Why are you telling me this? Isn't this a clan secret?" Natsumi asked once she was done explaining about it.
"I can't be the only one keeping my best friend's secret, can I?" Hinata giggled, causing her to laugh.
"You're right about that!"
***A few days later***
"Why are you here, Natsumi? Today's explanatory meeting is only for those who graduated," Shikamaru asked when he saw Natsumi chatting animatedly with Hinata just as he arrived in the classroom where said meeting would take place soon.
"Hey, can you not see this hitai-ate?" Natsumi showed him her hitai-ate tied around her neck. "Starting today, I'm also a ninja!" Shikamaru made a sound of approval before finding his seat next to Chouji. Sakura and Ino just arrived and already they were clamoring for the empty seat next to Sasuke. Their argument quickly involved almost all the other girls as well. Almost all, meaning only Natsumi and Hinata could not be bothered with trying to grab the coveted seat next to Sasuke.
"What's so good about Sasuke anyway? All I see is some stuck-up jerk," Natsumi said to Hinata. Her comment was heard by the arguing mass of girls and Sasuke himself. They all turned to face her, but she ignored her fellow classmates in favor of exchanging glares with him. One could almost swear lightning was sparking between their eyes. They did not break their glares until Iruka arrived to start the explanatory meeting.
"Starting today, you are all official ninjas but you are all still new Genins. It's going to get harder from here. You are all going to be placed in teams of three, where you will accomplish missions under a Jounin instructor," Iruka announced. That raised a small amount of chatter among the graduates as they discussed about being in a team of three. Just as Iruka predicted, most of the chatter was from the girls and who would be grouped with Sasuke. "We have arranged the teams such that overall abilities are equivalent. I will now announce them."
"As long as I'm on a team with Hinata-chan, I don't care who our partner is! Right, Hinata-chan?" Natsumi held very high hopes of being in a team with her best friend. In her mind, they were the perfect duo!
"R-Right..." Hinata gave a reluctant smile to the beaming Natsumi who did not notice anything wrong. She knew better. Her heartbeat had sped up tremendously when she heard the teams were to be roughly equivalent, and the two best friends were far from that. She did not doubt she and Natsumi would work flawlessly with each other and they would not ostracize whoever their partner would be if they were placed together, and that was a very big if. After Natsumi toiled to graduate, they were going to get separated again? Hinata could hardly think about it without getting panicked. She listened while giving a silent prayer to whatever gods were listening that they would not get separated. So far six teams had been announced, and neither of their names had been called.
"Team 7. Uzumaki Natsumi," Iruka announced. Both Hinata and Natsumi perked up. "Haruno Sakura." He glanced down at the name of the last person assigned to Team 7. He looked up and saw pleading looks in both Hinata's and Natsumi's face as their hands were clasped in a desperate plea. Unable to keep his gaze on them any longer, he gave them a heartfelt silent apology as he announced the last person. "And Uchiha Sasuke." He quickly sped through the last three teams, trying to crush the growing guilt he could feel building up in him even though he had no hand in selecting who was partnered with who.
"Iruka-sensei!" Natsumi voiced out her extreme dissatisfaction. "Why is a top student like me in a group with this guy?" she pointed to Sasuke.
"Sasuke graduated with the highest scores. And you, Natsumi, had the lowest," Iruka replied, causing most of the class to erupt into laughter. "This happens because we want to evenly divide abilities within the team."
"Don't hold me back," Sasuke spoke up, further angering an already agitated Natsumi.
"What did you say!"
"You want to fight, blockhead?"
"Blockhead? Why you...!"
"Calm down, Natsumi-chan. It can't be helped. The decision has been made," Hinata stopped the argument from turning into physicality even as the other graduates continued mocking Natsumi with their laughter.
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" Natsumi yelled as she slammed her fists into the table and sat down with a furious expression on her face. The laughter immediately ceased at how loud the resounding 'bang' was when she hit the table. Only Hinata's voice could be heard as she rubbed Natsumi's back gently as she tried to soothe her best friend.
"I'm going to introduce the Jounin instructors in the afternoon. Meeting adjourned until then!" Iruka dismissed his former students before the situation got any worse.
***Break Line***
"As usual, Natsumi's being the center of trouble," the Hokage commented as the gathered Jounin instructors observed the unsuspecting girl via his crystal ball.
"You seem worried, Hokage-sama. Is something the matter?" Kakashi saw the conflicted look on his leader's face.
"I can only hope that my separating the two of them will not destroy either from within," Hiruzen lamented.
"Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Natsumi, I presume?"
"If I were able, I would have not separated them in good conscience. It's a shame their abilities and their grades are too far apart for that to be a possibility."
"Why is that, if I might be so bold to ask?" Kurenai asked. "If they were to be together, it could be misinterpreted as favoritism."
"A report from Iruka stated Hinata nearly suffered an emotional breakdown when she sought advice from him the day after the graduation exams but before the graduates were required to fill out their Registration Forms. She wanted to consider returning her hitai-ate so she could stay with Natsumi. When he refused to even entertain her train of thought, she broke down and begged him to do something, anything, so she could stay by her side. I fear this time, one, or god forbid both of them, might collapse from the absence of the other," Hiruzen sighed.
***Break Line***
"Kiba, got a second?" Natsumi went to find Inuzuka Kiba, Hinata's teammate.
"What's up?" he asked, a little put off by how serious Natsumi's face was.
"It's about our teams."
"I get it. It's about Hinata, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I've got a really serious question to ask you."
"Shoot."
"If Akamaru is to be separated from you and you can't say no without being thrown into jail for insubordination, what will you do?"
"That will never happen! All the ninjas know the Inuzukas never part with our ninken!" Kiba laughed, causing Natsumi to scratch her head in frustration.
"Ugh, damn it Kiba! Fine! In a mission, then! You and Akamaru are separated and can't get back together! What then?"
"If anyone managed to do that, I'd have no choice but to trust Akamaru to my teammate's care. It's not that I don't trust them since Akamaru can take care of himself if needed to, but I can't trust them. I'll trust my teammate, I really will, but I really can't bring myself to trust anyone with Akamaru... except for my clan members. Them, I'll make an exception."
"I see. Thanks for telling me, Kiba," Natsumi thanked him and returned to the classroom.
***Break Line***
When afternoon arrived, nine Jounin ninjas had arrived in the classroom as Iruka paired a team up with one of them. When it was Team 7's turn, he mentioned their instructor would come later. When it was Team 8's turn to be paired up, Hinata was constantly looking over her shoulder at Natsumi, her eyes full of despair and longing as she slowly made her way to the Jounin which happened to be the only female Jounin there.
"Hinata-chan..." Natsumi murmured her name as her hand stretched towards her like it had a mind of its own. Hinata saw the gesture and stretched her own hand back as if refusing to go but was pulled away. Seeing it like it was a plea for help, Natsumi decided she had to help Hinata in some way. "Wait!" she called out when Team 8 was about to leave. Iruka, the remaining students and Jounins watched her curiously as she made her way towards Team 8.
"Natsumi-chan?" Hinata was a little worried about what she might do. She did not want to leave without her best friend, but refusing to go would tarnish her clan's name and she would be punished severely for insubordination.
"Kiba, remember what I asked earlier at lunch?" Natsumi asked, her eyes being shadowed by her bangs.
"Yeah. What about it?" he replied.
"It's the same thing with Hinata-chan and me. I know you have a Jounin instructor and I know Hinata-chan can take care of herself, but I can't trust any of you. I can't do it," she told them.
"Yeah, I can't trust you with Akamaru either," he chuckled. If anyone in Team 8 was offended at Natsumi's mistrust of them, they did not show it.
"But I have to. We've got no choice but to be on separate teams. I don't know why, but it's really hurting me inside to accept it. I can't stop this from happening, but I can say this. If you ever make Hinata-chan cry... If you ever let her get hurt so badly she can't even stand..." Natsumi raised her head just enough so Team 8 could see her eyes... and it was not the bright blue eyes everyone associated her with. The members of Team 8 froze at the red slit eyes she was glaring with, and they were full of hate. "I'll beat the living crap out of all of you!" she growled out that last sentence.
Only Hinata understood why Natsumi was so full of rage and while not a single drop of it was directed towards her, she still felt her sense of danger screaming and warning her to get as far away as she could from her. Though it was brief, Iruka and the Jounins were suddenly on full alert as their wide eyes were trained on Natsumi. They recognized that killer intent anywhere and feared Natsumi would lose control and attack everyone around her. Fortunately, after delivering her threat, she turned and stomped her way back to her seat, her eyes back to normal. All the students were unaware of what happened, having only seen the adults snap their wide-eyed gazes towards her.
'This is bad... Hokage-sama was right when he feared separating the two girls could have severe consequences,' Kurenai thought as she tried not to hurry out of the building.
***Break Line***
The Jounin instructor for Team 7 only arrived two hours after everyone else had left and his first impression of them was he hated them. Rather than being affected by the depressive aura her other two teammates emitted, Natsumi only clicked her tongue in annoyance. She was no longer boiling with anger towards the situation but she was far from being calm or in her usual attitude. They headed towards the roof where their instructor introduced himself as Hatake Kakashi. He had no intention of telling them his likes or dislikes. His dream was left unsaid and he had a few hobbies. He then looked pointedly towards Natsumi as it was her turn to do her introduction.
"I'm Uzumaki Natsumi. I like ramen of all sorts, especially Ichiraku ramen. I also like Hinata-chan's homemade lunches. My favorite person in the world is Hyuuga Hinata-chan. I hate the three minutes you have to wait for cup ramen to boil after adding hot water. I also hate anyone who hurts Hinata-chan. My hobby is to spend as much time as possible with Hinata-chan. And my dream is to become a Hokage greater than all of the previous ones. I'm going to make all the villagers acknowledge my existence." She did it with less heart than she normally would, still affected by the recent separation with Hinata.
'I see. She grew up in an interesting way. And with a lot of aid from Hinata,' Kakashi noted mentally. "Okay, next."
"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like... Well, the person I like is..." she trailed off as she sneaked Sasuke a few glances. "And my hobby is... My dream is to..." Instead of completing any of her sentences, she only squealed in delight.
"And? What do you hate?" Kakashi prompted.
"Natsumi!" she answered immediately with no remorse.
"What the hell!" Natsumi snapped. "What did I do to you to make you hate me?"
"You're always trying to pick a fight with Sasuke-kun! You're never going to win, so stop bothering him!" Sakura shouted back.
"That's all it takes for you to hate someone? Someone bothering Sasuke? Then I'm pretty sure you hate all the other girls in class, even Ino. I didn't know you were that ungrateful to her for being your friend. Breaking your friendship over someone as stupid as him?" she pointed to Sasuke accusingly.
"Hey! Don't call Sasuke-kun stupid!"
"Forget it. I'm through talking with you," Natsumi sulked and returned to looking all grouchy at Kakashi.
"Last guy," he turned to Sasuke without missing a beat even as he took mental notes on his Genins. 'Girls her age must be more interested in love than training. Well, most girls at least. Still, for Natsumi to take offense to Sakura breaking off a friendship... It only reinforces the fact how vital Hinata's presence is to Natsumi.'
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things I hate, and not many things I like," Sasuke imitated Kakashi's own introduction to a small degree. "Also, I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream. The revival of my clan and to kill a certain man." An awkward silence descended down on the group. Natsumi wondered who Sasuke wanted to kill and guessed it was whoever killed his clan, while Sakura could only grasp the self-induced thought that Sasuke was cool. Kakashi had expected such a response from the Uchiha.
"Alright, you three have unique personalities. I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow," he told them.
"What kind of mission is that?" Natsumi asked, her interest perked.
"First, we're going to do something that we four can do."
"What is it?"
"Survival training."
"Why are we going to train when it's a mission?" Sakura asked. "We had plenty of training in the Academy."
"This is no ordinary training," Kakashi replied.
"Then what kind of training is it?" Natsumi asked, only to get laughter from him.
"What is so funny, sensei?" Sakura looked a little offended at the laughter.
"Well, if I tell you, I'm sure you three are going to be surprised." Once he was sure he got their full attention, Kakashi's voice turned serious. "Out of the 27 graduates, only nine are to become Genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the Academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a 66% failure rate." Just as he expected, the three of them were surprised in various ways. "See? You three are surprised!" His tone changed to a jovial one.
"No way! I went through so much trouble to pass that exam... What's the point of it then?" Natsumi complained.
"That? It just picks out those who are qualified to be Genin. I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at 5 AM!" Kakashi watched carefully at each of their reactions. Sakura was likely thinking about Sasuke just from her line of sight, Sasuke had gripped his hands together tighter whether to calm himself or rousing himself for the challenge, and Natsumi was just plain nervous... until she suddenly stopped shaking and looked like she was thinking hard. She looked towards the Academy for a second, got thinking again, before shaking her head furiously and tried to relax. That got Kakashi trying to figure out her thoughts. 'She's likely thinking about Hinata again. Judging from what she did, I suppose she considered the thought of purposely failing so she can get another chance at teaming up with Hinata next year before changing her mind. I can't tell if Hinata's a crutch she's been leaning on for far too long or a lifeline that keeps her going strong. Hokage-sama, you've made a huge gamble with those two. Either their bond will grow even stronger than before, or they will completely crumble to pieces without each other.'
Leaving them to think about it, Kakashi bade them farewell and advised them not to eat breakfast or they would throw up. Tomorrow, he would see if his three charges were worthy to be among the nine who would be Genin.
***End of Chapter***
Differences
The Ninja Registration Form photograph.
Canon: Naruto took three hours to paint himself and strike a pose as his photo.
My version: Natsumi went straight to the Academy as early as possible to wait for Hinata and tell her she passed. She did not want to waste time doing the aforementioned prank and miss Hinata. I also added a small extra scene where they took an extra photograph as a show of their friendship.
Ebisu and Konohamaru's appearance.
Canon: After Konohamaru gets punched for falsely accusing Naruto, Ebisu lectures him about the dangers of associating with Naruto.
My version: The punch is the same, but Ebisu lectures Konohamaru on not only the dangers of associating with Natsumi, but encourages him to do the exact opposite with Hinata. Basically, it's avoid Natsumi and hang around with Hinata.
Konohamaru's lesson with Naruto.
Canon: He tails Naruto and learns the Oiroke no Jutsu.
My version: I added an extra scene of Hinata finding out about the Kyuubi sealed in Natsumi. She did know about the Kyuubi due to Kou's accidental mention of it, and she's smart enough to know there's a connection. Once Natsumi runs off, the canon scene with Konohamaru occurs except he learns the Henge instead. Harem no Jutsu does not exist in this story, but Konohamaru can easily tell Ebisu not to attack Natsumi before a fight can break out. After that, Hinata finds out Kyuubi is sealed in Natsumi and does not hold it against her. She knows how seals work as she is surrounded with seal-bearing people when she's at home (the Branch House Hyuuga).
The formation of the Genin teams.
Canon: Naruto only has a few complaints about being in Team 7.
My version: Natsumi has a boatload of complaints, not sticking together with Hinata being the biggest one. She speaks with Kiba on how to deal with separation when two individuals so closely connected to each other have to go separate ways. After getting her answer, she gets one final say about her opinion on the matter and awakens the Kyuubi's power from sheer frustration and the inability to do anything to keep herself and Hinata together.
The observation of Naruto through Hiruzen's crystal ball.
Canon: Hiruzen and the Jounins witness Naruto being dealt with harshly by a lot of girls in his class after the accidental kiss with Sasuke.
My version: Hiruzen is aware of the danger but takes the risk to separate Natsumi and Hinata. He does not feel good about it, but separates the two due to their different talents and the difference in their grades. He mentions Iruka's report, particularly to Kakashi and Kurenai, of one instance of separation, and how badly it affected Hinata. As for the kiss, it doesn't happen because Natsumi has no reason to confront Sasuke up close as she doesn't care about how popular he is and would rather stay away in one corner with Hinata if she isn't trying to pick a fight with him.
The introductions with Kakashi.
Canon: Naruto obsesses with ramen, Sakura obsesses with Sasuke and hating Naruto, and Sasuke wanting to kill his brother. Kakashi takes mental notes of each of them.
My version: Natsumi still obsesses with ramen but mentions Hinata with the same amount of obsession. When Sakura mentions hating Natsumi, she took offense to it instead of being depressed. Naruto wants Sakura's affection in canon so he gets depressed when she said she hated him. Natsumi has no such relation and is neutral to her, hence why she took offense at Sakura's statement of hating her. Due to her own friendship with Hinata, Natsumi is disgusted at the fact Sakura so easily broke off her friendship with Ino. No changes with Sasuke. Kakashi takes more interest in observing Natsumi due to the Hokage's comments about her friendship with Hinata and wonders about it.
***Break Line***
And that's it for this chapter! I was disappointed in myself since I had so few reviews last chapter. I can't tell if I'm doing a decent job or not with this story if I have no reviews. So, I hope I will get more reviews this time and thanks to all of you who favorited/followed/reviewed this story!
