No I don't own Naruto. I also don't claim credit for other author's work, so don't forget that anything in bold was written by Shawny Wong!
The Controlled Chaos of Free Will - Chapter Three
Piercing the Stone
Universal Coordinates - 4139575/2
Universal Coordinator - Shawny Wong
Universal Identification - One Small Step
Time Stamp - Eskimo Kiss
Blinking, Anko looked around in confusion. "Did anyone else notice that most of that dialogue happened when people weren't moving their lips?" Looking at each other, the ninja seemed to collectively jump. Now that the kunoichi mentioned it, most of that seemed to be in Hinata, Naruto or Iruka's mind's. What the heck was going on here?
Sitting on his throne of empty air, Vortex started to chuckle once again. "What part of my previous explanation did you not understand? If it's that confusing I guess I'll try to speak more clearly. What you felt was their impressions and emotions, but I bet if everyone compared notes, you'd all get different dialogue. The only one who should have gotten it right was the focus of the emotions, otherwise known as Hinata, Naruto, and Iruka. Everyone else's minds formed your own interpretation of their mental and emotional states. It was hardly like I activated the telepathy option." Hearing that, Hinata felt somewhat exposed.
Snapping his fingers, the so called Laughing Magician shifted their environment once again. "Now that the seed of change has been planted, it needs a bit of time to properly grow. We'll fast forward a bit on the time line, and start again." Grumbling, the assorted ninja sat through the once again changing landscape while waiting for the next stage of this demented game. Yet, as suddenly as it had started, the shift stopped, leaving them in front of the still young Naruto.
Hinata was the strangest girl he'd ever met. He never noticed her before, but ever since that day the day she gave him her tape player he couldn't seem to stop thinking about her. She was nothing like the other girls in his class. The other girls were always together in groups, or in pairs as if they needed the support of numbers. Hinata was always alone. The other girls loved to gossip and chatter and giggle. Hinata rarely spoke. (He'd never heard her laugh either, but he'd caught her smiling once or twice.) The other girls were loud and bossy, especially that Ino. Hinata was quiet and timid.
Hearing his mental description of the Hyuga kunoichi, Naruto felt his face flush red. Sure, everything the kid version of him was saying was true, but that did not mean that Hinata had no good points. You just actually had to talk with her for a little bit to find them.
Then there was her physical appearance. Most girls wore bright colors and things to make them look pretty. Sakura wore bright red. Ino wore bright purple. Hinata, on the other hand, wore an unflattering plain beige jacket that looked too big for her. And what was wrong with her eyes? They were such a weird color. Not quite silver. Not quite white. Not quite lavender. Weird. But the strangest thing about her eyes was the lack of pupils. Was it a birth defect maybe? (Naruto would not learn about bloodlines and related doujutsu until his third year a the Academy.) She looked like she was blind, but obviously she could see just fine.
Shifting uncomfortably, Hinata refused to look at anyone. Her appearance had always been something she had been embarrassed by, from her strange eyes to her weak frame. Being compared to beautiful girls like Ino and Sakura only made her feel that much worse.
She was definitely the strangest girl he ever met. And why had she had given him a gift?
Aside from the Sandaime Hokage, no one had ever given Naruto anything just because. There was always a price. Always. He never received birthday presents, Christmas presents, or any kind of presents. Why had she given him her tape player? The question burned. Was she playing a prank on him? The day after, he almost expected her to yell, "Just kidding! I want my tape player back." Or even worse, for her to accuse him of stealing it. (It wouldn't be the first time he was accused of a theft he hadn't committed.) But... No... That couldn't be right. Iruka-sensei was there when she gave it to him. If she were going to trick him like that, then she would have waited until there were no witnesses.
Getting the gist of his Godsons mental rant, Jiraiya swallowed thickly. He had known that devoting all his time to his spy network would have consequences, but to have the boy confused by a simple present or expecting a trick? Suddenly, the arguments for his actions seemed much hollower.
Two weeks had gone by since that day. By now, he was sure it wasn't a prank, or something would have happened already. He caught her looking at him more than once not with cold, hateful eyes the way the older villagers looked at him. Did she think he was funny looking? But then, every time tried to catch her eye or get her attention, she would look away. It was almost like she was trying to avoid him. Was she afraid of him? Should he talk to her?
He didn't understand her at all.
Asuma shook his head in amusement. Men decades older than the blonde child had attempted to understand women, and failed spectacularly. The earlier he realized this truth, the better off he would be.
As if sensing his train of thought, Kurenai took that opportunity to attempt a jab to his ribs, only to have the blow fail to make contact.
Well, whatever her reasons were...Naruto was grateful for the tape player.
Rubbing her eyes in exasperation, Sakura shot her teammate a look. "Of course, after cutting her apart like that, the one thing you care about is the stupid tape player."
Holding his hands in supplication, Naruto attempted to defend himself. "Well, it's not like I haven't been set up to take the fall before. One time, an Academy instructor offered to help me learn some awesome new jutsu. I ended up waiting on the roof of the Academy for hours, only to get kicked out by the ANBU for trespassing. Then the bastard had the balls to give me detention for a month, claiming I lied."
Iruka hid a wince. He had heard rumors about that, but thought that Naruto was just making excuses after getting caught preparing for a prank.
He used it to practice those memory retention techniques Iruka taught them. Again, and again, and again. He really mastered them! Then he started to use them during Iruka's lessons. He treated Iruka's lecture like another memory exercise. At first, he did it because he was simply bored in class and doing memory exercises to Iruka's lecture made the class go by faster. He quickly discovered the first side benefit of doing this: no more flying erasers aimed at his head (because he was actually paying attention)!
Gaping, Iruka turned deathly pale. "Naruto...was actually paying attention in class? That's one of the official signs of the Apocalypse!"
Frowning, the blonde turned to bitch his old teacher out, only to find most of the older ninja from Konoha on their knees and praying. -
He didn't discover the second side benefit until Iruka posted the results of their last exam. To his great surprise (and everyone else's), he aced the last exam! It was the first time he had ever done something well - better than well - instead of coming in dead last. Iruka-sensei had even congratulated him before the entire class. Naruto swelled with pride just remembering it. Of course, he wasn't memorizing whole lectures. But using the memory tricks, he could at least memorize the important points of the lectures quickly. Combine that with actually paying attention and Naruto was well on his way to academic success.
That statement made the prayers grow louder, and encouraged Jiraiya, Shizune, and Tsunade to join in. Several of the assorted Genin seemed tempted to begin as well.
Hinata was genuinely happy. When Naruto did so spectacularly on their last exam, she was so proud of him! She imagined she felt a bit like a proud parent would towards their baby's first steps. She was just bursting with pride! She had always known that Naruto was smart. It upset her whenever the other kids called him "stupid" or "dead last." To have her belief vindicated felt... satisfying.
Looking up, Hinata could not help her own smile of happiness. Everyone discounted Naruto because of his energy and love of pranks, but few bothered to realize just how much work he put into them. Seeing it from beginning to end was quite the production.
And she was proud of herself. It was such an alien concept - being proud of herself - that it took several days for her to correctly identify the emotion. She, the Hyuuga failure, had done something right, for once. She had helped Naruto-kun! And he'd called her "the best!" Of course, it was just an expression and he didn't really mean she was actually "the best." (She was a weakling. How could she possibly be "the best" at anything?) But he had been happy. She had been the one to make him happy with her gift. For someone like her, it was a major accomplishment almost a minor miracle. She wanted to approach him again to talk... to be his friend. But... What if he didn't want to talk to her? What if he rejected her?
Sighing, Kurenai looked at her student sadly. Sometimes, it seemed that it was always one step forward, two steps back with the girl.
Hinata sighed. What little courage she'd found to approach him that day was lost again.
Shooting a quick look at Naruto, Hinata made a vow to herself. She could not afford to lose her nerve so easily if she was ever going to make Naruto truly acknowledge her.
"Next year, we will be introducing the basics of ninjutsu," Iruka smiled, as he noticed nearly every student sit up a little bit straighter. (Shikamaru was still slumped in his seat.) Naruto in particular was almost bouncing in his seat with excitement. Ninjutsu was the calling card of shinobi. The first two years of the Academy were focused on basic taijutsu, basic weaponry, and non-combat ninja techniques (including history of the Shinobi Nations, basic strategy, and memory retention techniques) much to Naruto's disappointment. To hear the word "ninjutsu" before third year was always cause for excitement.
Scoffing, Sasuke wondered why they had to follow such a pathetic curriculum anyways. People like that man and Kakashi mastered the essentials within a year. Others should be given the same shot.
Then he remembered that his Sensei was a lazy pervert and that man was a monster in human skin, and wondered if it was worth it...if only for a second.
"But before we get to that, we need to learn chakra theory and master the twelve fundamental hand seals used for manipulating chakra. What is chakra?" Iruka wrote the word on the blackboard as he asked the question. He turned back to the class. "Chakra is the combination of mental, physical, and spiritual energies in the body. Chakra is essential to life. Without it we would die. Chakra is also the essential ingredient to performing any shinobi jutsu.
Shaking his head, Naruto gave his old teacher an annoyed gaze. "I liked it better when Sakura-chan explained it back in Wave Country."
Slapping his forehead, Iruka returned the gaze. "Of course you did. Most teenage boys pay more attention to girls then to their wise and all knowing instructors."
"Hand seals are the second ingredient. Hand seals are used to change the chakra within your body into a jutsu. To perform a jutsu, you first summon chakra, then transform it into a jutsu using a hand seal or a series of hand seals. In an actual fight, you will have to form hand seals while evading enemy attacks, so being able to make hand seals quickly and accurately is critical. The faster you can do the hand seals, the faster you can pull off a jutsu. And in a real fight, fractions of a second can mean the difference between life and death. Before you leave the Academy, performing hand seals quickly should be as natural to you as breathing.
Quirking an eyebrow, Shino turned to their old teacher. "That may be true, but moving beyond a need for hand seals makes you a much more effective ninja."
Feeling a headache coming on, Iruka shot the Aburame a glare. "You've got to walk before you run."
"First we will work on accuracy. Then we will work on speed. Now, I'm going to demonstrate the twelve fundamental hand seals. The trick to remembering them is to say the name aloud while forming the seal with your hands. Practice this until your fingers can move instinctively."
Iruka went through hand seals, calling out the names as he demonstrated them. He held each seal for several seconds, so that his students could get a good look at it, before moving on to the next one.
"Rat."
"Dragon."
"Monkey."
"Ox."
"Snake."
"Bird."
"Tiger."
"Horse."
"Dog."
"Hare."
"Ram."
"Boar."
Blinking, Naruto turned to Jiraiya. "Hey Ero-sennin, why do we call handsigns stuff like Dog or Boar anyways? Why not have a water sign, or an explosion sign?" Surprised by the insightful question, the others stayed silent, their own curiosity peaked.
Rubbing his chin, the Sannin hummed in concentration. "Well, the use of chakra was supposed to have been initiated by the Six Paths Sage. He created things like ninjutsu out of a combination of different religions and cultures he was exposed to in his quest for enlightenment. The hand signs were inspired, if you believe the legends, by a culture who named their years on a never ending cycle called the Zodiac. They believed that people born on a particular year would have certain traits and compatibility to those born in other years. Something about that cycle impressed the Sage, and he took the names of the Zodiac to indicate the never ending cycle of the hand signs and their relationships to one another."
Looking up, Jiraiya had to fight the urge to pout at the numerous glazed looks in his audiences eyes. He settled for taking a half hearted swipe at Naruto's skull, making a comment about how people who asked questions should at least pay attention when answered. Unable to feel a thing, the blonde continued to watch the scene before him.
The next hour was spent going around the classroom. Iruka had each student form the hand seals for him. He gently corrected fingers and hand positions as he went along. The key to learning hand seals was repetition but all the repetition in the world was no good if the seal was formed incorrectly! So Iruka didn't move on until he was certain the student knew the correct finger positions. Doing this didn't actually take much time. A majority of the students about 70 percent, Iruka guessed came from ninja backgrounds, where one or both parents were ninja. Some even came from prominent ninja clans, like the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. Those students already knew the twelve hand signs and even had decent speed for Academy students.
Smirking, Neji crossed his arms over a puffed up chest. "Indeed, the Hyuga clan requires mastery of all the hand signs before the age of three." Hearing his tone, Tenten tried to knock some of the smugness out of her teammate, only for the attempt to prove useless.
Naruto was not one of those students. Iruka dedicated a good ten minutes to helping him with his hands. When class let out for lunch, Naruto was cornered by Kenta and Jirou. The two of them came from minor ninja families and took great joy in rubbing Naruto's failures in his face.
Feeling his fingernails biting into his hand, the blonde forced himself to remember what happened to the two jerks after the graduation test. Last he had heard, Kenta was pulled from the Academy in shame while Jirou was supposedly in remedial lessons somewhere. That did not mean their upcoming taunts did not still sting.
"Hey, dead last! How are you going to be Hokage if you have to take remedial lessons from Iruka-sensei?" Kenta laughed.
"'I'm going to be Hokage!'" mocked Jirou. "You're so slow, I can finish all twelve hand seals before you can even do one. I have a better chance of becoming Hokage than you do."
Thinking back to the last Uzumaki to strive for Hokage, Jiraiya snorted. These brats really had no idea what they were messing with.
"I am going to be Hokage!" Naruto shot back. "You won't be faster than me for long. Once I get some practice, I bet I can finish all twelve hand seals before you can!"
Making one of his infamous shining smiles of doom, Gai flashed Naruto a thumbs up. "Yosh, that's the way to prove your determination!"
"Yeah, right! Not in a million years!"
"Have fun with your remedial lessons! Loser!"
At that point, Naruto decided that the two old school bullies needed a reminder why you did not mess with the village's number one prankster.
With one last shove, the boys ran off to enjoy the rest of their lunch break. Behind a corner, Hinata had witnessed the entire confrontation. Naruto sat down and started to slowly practice his hand seals. His eyes burned with determination. She heard him mutter.
"I am going to be Hokage. I am going to be faster. I'll be the fastest in the class. I won't give up!" Then in a loud voice, "Monkey!"
Good luck, Naruto-kun. I know you can do it.
Feeling Hinata's belief in his eventual success, Naruto fought back another blush. While having people stick up for him was a new thing, it was still rather nice.
A few days later, Naruto had memorized all the hand seals. But his speed still needed work a lot of work. He didn't understand it. No matter how many hours he practiced, he was still slower than most of his classmates even the ones from non-ninja families, like Sakura. I'll ask Iruka-sensei today after class. Maybe there's something I'm missing. Iruka-sensei will help me.
Frowning, Iruka wondered why Naruto had not sought him out about this issue in their universe. Then he remembered that the blonde had been serving a month long detention after the prank following the memorization exam and shut his mouth with a blush.
"Iruka-sensei?"
Iruka looked up from grading papers to see Naruto hovering at the door of his office. "Yes, Naruto?"
"Can you give me any tips to help me get faster at making hand seals? I've been practicing really hard, but for some reason I'm still the slowest person in the class!"
Nodding his agreement, Kakashi shot his student a look. While the blonde had proven his determination and focus many times by now, somehow he always seemed to fall short on the simplest things. His lack of hand seal speed had been one of the reasons he had not shown the blonde any new techniques, after all.
"Hmm Have a seat." Iruka gestured at the chair in front of his desk and waited for Naruto to get comfortable. "How many hours a day are you practicing them?"
"At least, three hours a day. Sometimes five."
Practically vibrating in excitement, Lee followed his mentor's example and shot the blonde a smile. "Now that is how a student of hard work operates!"
Iruka fought to keep the surprise from his face. That was above and beyond what he expected from most students. Naruto was certainly tenacious. But if that was true - and he had no reason to lie - then Naruto should be one of the fastest in the class. So why wasn't he? Unless... Iruka had never seen Naruto play ninja games with the other children. Could it be...
Blinking, Kiba cocked his head to the side. He had to have misunderstood that.
"I'm glad you're working so hard, Naruto. It is strange. With that much practice you really should be much faster."
"Then why am I not? Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong, Iruka-sensei?"
"Yeah, show me how to fix this problem already!" Naruto's frustration was thick enough to cut with a kunai.
Frowning, Tsunade turned to a now fidgeting Kakashi. "You know, if this is accurate, you should have been able to help Naruto by now. How exactly have you attempted to address this issue?"
At that point, the Jonin was thrilled that no one could actually harm another in this weird place.
"You're not doing anything wrong." Iruka hesitated. He really didn't want to bring up Naruto's isolation from the other children. But if he were right about this, then it would make a lot of sense. "Naruto... Have you ever played Cat's Cradle?"
Blinking, Chouji looked at the scene in disbelief. "Huh, what does a kid's game have to do with being a ninja?"
Remembering the A-rank ninjutsu that required a person to play with balloons, the blonde Konoha Genin bit back a groan. "With my luck, it's probably a whole damn lot."
"You mean that string game?" Naruto shook his head, looking confused. "No. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Have you ever wondered why Cat's Cradle is such a popular children's game in Konoha?" Iruka slipped into lecture mode. "It's not a very popular game in most places, except the Hidden Villages. Cat's Cradle isn't just a children's game for fun and passing time. It's actually an early training exercise. Cat's Cradle develops coordination and strengthens the muscles in your fingers and hands. It makes your fingers more nimble and flexible and improves manual dexterity. Most ninja parents teach their children to play the game before they can walk. Children from civilian families will play it, too. Even if their parents don't teach it to them, they learn by playing with other kids. We do live in a ninja village, after all.
Snorting, Kankurou decided to break the Suna team's silence. "Playing Cat's cradle to train your fingers? Wow, you guys must love to be so damned easygoing in Konoha."
Bristling at the comment, Naruto turned on the puppeteer. "What the heck is that supposed to mean? Don't tell me that you're too good to play a game to get stronger."
Throwing her brother a look, Temari broke up the fight before it began. "Cloth is scarce in Suna, so using something as valuable as string for a child's game is seen as the height of frivolity. Sure most of the noble ninja clans know Cat's Cradle, but the rank and file of our village would never develop something so vital in such a manner."
Blinking, the blonde nodded his understanding. "Ok, I guess that makes sense. So what do you use anyway?"
Smirking, the Kunoichi removed a metal disk from a pocket before expertly shifting it between her fingers in a dazzling display of dexterity. "Coin tricks are simpler, easier to learn, and metal won't wear out like string. A skilled practitioner can keep three coins of different weights and sizes moving in each hand at the same time."
Distracted by the shiny motion of Temari's fingers, the Genin let out a low whistle. That was much cooler than playing with string! -
"Think of it like lifting weights and running laps for taijutsu. Even if you're taijutsu forms and stances are perfect, without lifting weights and running laps, you'll never be a taijutsu master. Cat's Cradle is like physical conditioning for hand seals the same way weights and laps are physical conditioning for taijutsu. It's not part of the curriculum because most children have already learned it before the enter the Academy."
"None of the other kids would play with me. Not even when I asked." Naruto said softly.
Remembering those days of solitude, Naruto bit back a wince. Somehow, he just knew the next few minutes were going to be uncomfortable.
Iruka winced. It was exactly as he'd thought. Naruto was just a kid. He shouldn't be treated like this. Sometimes, I hate being right. Iruka dug around his desk drawers. Now where is it? Ah! There it is.
"That's all right, Naruto." Iruka smiled and held out a red string. He knotted the ends together to form a loop. "Would you like to learn how to play right now?"
Smiling at the scene, Iruka wished with all his heart that things had actually happened like that.
Naruto stuffed the red string into his pocket as he stepped outside the Academy. Class was over for the day, but there were still a lot of kids hanging out on the premises. Some kids (like Kiba) stayed behind for extra training and after school sparring with other kids. Some kids (like Sakura and Ino) stayed just to gossip and hang out with their friends. Others (like Shikamaru) stayed to avoid chores at home. (Although Naruto did not know this, Hinata stayed behind for two reasons: to avoid her family and to catch an extra glimpse of him.)
Blinking at that tidbit, Naruto shot another look at the shy Hyuga.
Naruto thought back to his meeting with Iruka. Iruka had explained that there were two different versions of Cat's Cradle: a civilian version and a ninja version. The ninja version had about thirty extra steps and was more complex. Also, the ninja version had an advanced level with two strings and required three players. After playing several rounds of Cat's Cradle (the ninja version, of course), Iruka had told him to find a friend to play it with.
Flashback
"I think you've got the hang of it, Naruto. Keep practicing, okay? If you can find a friend to play this with, come back here and I'll teach you to play the advanced level of Cat's Cradle, since we'll need three people for that. The three-player version is actually quite challenging and fun. The two strings together form intricate designs and a single mistake can tangle you in knots very quickly!"
/Flashback
Remembering his attempts at making friends in the Academy, Naruto knew that this was going to royally suck.
Naruto frowned. Find a friend to play this with? Yeah, right. No one had ever played with him before. He didn't see how that was going to change anytime soon. But he really wanted to play again. It had been fun, playing with Iruka-sensei. He wanted to play it again, and not just because it would help his speed with hand seals. Unfortunately, he didn't think the other kids would play with him. I won't give up before I try. I'll ask around anyways.
Slapping his forehead, Shikamaru groaned. He just KNEW that this was going to be troublesome with a capital T.
"No way, man! Why would I want to play a baby game with you?" asked Kiba. He grinned, fangs showing, "Want to spar instead? I'll go easy on you."
Blushing, the Inuzuka shrunk down into his seat. "It's not like I knew it was a training tool for hand signs either."
"What are you, three? That's such a boring game." Ino flounced away.
Frowning, the blonde kunoichi shot a small glare at her younger self. "Real kunoichi don't flounce."
"Eww Get away from me! You probably have cooties!" Sakura ran to rejoin Ino.
Skin tone shifting to match her hair, Sakura shot a sympathetic look at her teammate. She really had been a bit of a brat back then.
"Cat's Cradle? It's so troublesome," drawled Shikamaru, lying on his back. "I just want to watch the clouds and take a nap. Ask me some other time."
Snorting, every single Genin looked at the Nara, knowing that he still would probably say the same thing these days, foreknowledge or no.
Hinata wavered with indecision. She'd heard Naruto asking around for a partner to play Cat's Cradle with. She didn't understand why he wanted to play a children's game. But if he wanted to play, she would play! She wanted desperately to go up to him and volunteer to be his partner. But she just couldn't! That was much too forward for the timid girl. If only he would ask her. Ask me, please! I'm here. He didn't see her. She saw him turn to leave. Ask me! Please! She took one small step forward.
Shaking her head, the Hyuga kunoichi wondered if it was really that simple. Every change seemed so minor by themselves, but when taken together they had such an impact!
Naruto growled in frustration. He'd been shot down, not once, not twice, but four times! Four! He might as well go home. There was no one else he could ask. A small sound and a flash of beige at the corner of his eye caught his attention. What was that? I could have sworn... Wait! Is that Hinata?
Smiling, the blonde sat back and relaxed. It looked like he was actually going to do something right this time.
In an alternate time and place, Naruto never noticed Hinata standing there, so he never thought to ask her - and he never found a partner for Cat's Cradle. Instead, Naruto worked hard to improve his speed little by little through sheer repetition on his own - and with a few more rounds of Cat's Cradle with Iruka-sensei. (However, Iruka had other responsibilities and couldn't dedicate a great deal of time for one student, no matter how fond he was of Naruto.) He would remain in the bottom quartile of the class - and never reach his full potential. One small action at the right time, at the right place, would change the world.
Tsunade and Jiraiya shot each other a look. While they liked the blonde, was he really going to have that much of an impact?
In this time and place, Naruto had just spent two weeks wondering about Hinata and watching her, so he noticed her standing there - and thus, thought to ask her. Her small act of kindness gave him hope. Here was a person who didn't hate him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given her tape player to him. Dare he? Should he risk being shot down yet again? I'll ask her. She might say "no" like all the rest, but she might say "yes." Maybe... She's so strange Normal people don't like me. She's not normal at all. She's different so maybe she'll be my friend?
Fisting her hands, Hinata prayed that it would all work out.
"Hinata, right?" Naruto shuffled his feet a little. "Would you I mean I know it's kind of stupid, but would you like to play Cat's Cradle with me?"
"H-h-hai!"
"Really? That's awesome! Come on!"
Looking at the two kids before her, Tenten had to fight the urge to coo at how cute they looked. She had an image to maintain after all!
Naruto was nervous as they sat on the front steps of the Academy to play. No. Scratch that. He was beyond nervous. He was about to have a full-blown panic attack. The training that Cat's Cradle was supposed to give him was irrelevant. That was neither here nor there. He almost couldn't believe she'd said "yes." It was the first time anyone his age agreed to play with him. Playing together was the first step to making friends, right? Friends played together. This was his chance! If he made a good enough impression... then maybe she'd agree to play with him again. That could lead to real friendship - something he'd only dreamed about.
Biting his lip, Naruto unknowingly joined Hinata in her prayers.
I can't mess this up! I have to do this right!
Naturally, the moment he decided not to mess up, he ruined it. Naruto was so flustered that it didn't take more than a few steps into Cat's Cradle - the ninja version, of course - before the red string was one giant knot. He looked down at it in dismay. Hinata gently removed the string from his hands and worked on straightening the string out.
"It's o-o-okay, Naruto-kun. W-w-would you like t-t-to try again?"
Shooting his own Hinata a thankful grin, the blonde was rewarded with a blush and returned smile.
Naruto could only nod. He looped the string twice around his fingers and held his hands out to try again.
Three giant knots later, disaster struck. Somehow - he didn't know how - somehow he managed to tangle the string around both their hands inadvertently, tying their hands together. Now they were stuck. Naruto swore internally. Idiot! I'm such an idiot. My big chance to make a friend, and I go and ruin it. She'll never play with me again... He glanced at his partner only to see that her face was bright red. She was nice to me and now she's angry. Why can't I do anything right?
Blinking, Hinata was honestly shocked that Naruto's rant seemed to match one of her own. However, instead of feeling let down by her inspiration, the young girl felt happy that they had that much more in common.
"I'm sorry," he said somberly without his usual volume. "I'm sorry I'm such a horrible player. I'm sorry I made you angry. Damn it! I really messed up. I'm always messing up. No wonder nobody wants to be friends with me. Heck, I wouldn't want to be friends with me, either."
Hinata - who was blushing and not red-faced with anger - was startled by the misery on his face and the self-loathing in his voice. She rushed to reassure him - and for the first time, spoke straight from the heart, without thinking. "No! I'm not m-m-mad. I want to be your friend."
"Do you mean it?" Naruto looked at her in wonder.
"H-h-hai."
Fighting to remain stoic, Gaara looked on in wonder. If only someone from Suna had made such a step for him, things could have been so much better.
"You want to be my friend?" he asked again, just to be sure. When she nodded, pure joy erupted within him. The rush made him giddy. His heart felt strangely full. And for reasons he couldn't explain, he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She had accepted all his mistakes without derision. She wasn't angry. She accepted him as he was.
He had a friend!
Blinking rapidly, Naruto refused to acknowledge the gathering moisture in his eyes, but those around him noticed and kept their silence.
"Thank you," he whispered at last.
Had she done the right thing? Hinata wondered. She had quickly realized that he was a beginner at Cat's Cradle, but she didn't mind. Except Naruto had looked so upset. And the more upset he got, the more mistakes he made - which only made him more upset. Hinata was intimately familiar with those feelings. So she simply helped correct his mistakes. When their hands were tied together, she could only blush. And then... he was so hurt and miserable. The desperate need to comfort him made her bold; she would never have spoken so recklessly and impulsively otherwise. Now although there was a sheen of tears in his eyes, his joy was unmistakable.
Had she done the right thing? Yes.
Naruto smiled at her.
Hinata smiled back.
Anko really wanted to unleash a snarky comment at this point, but something told her that a lynching would soon follow such an action.
"All right!" Naruto was back to his confident, excitable self. "Let's go find Iruka-sensei to help us get untied. Then we can play again! I'll get it this time for sure!"
Naruto jumped to his feet. He was in such a hurry that he forgot to account for the law of inertia - which states: an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. When Naruto leapt to his feet, he became a moving object that wanted to keep moving. Hinata, who was quite comfortable where she was, became the stationary object that wanted to stay still. Unfortunately, the stationary object and the moving object were still tied together. The result was painful collision. Hinata was forcibly pulled up from a sitting position, while Naruto's upward leap was forcibly reversed; he was jerked backwards. Their heads collided with a resounding CRACK!
Shaking her head, Hana smirked at the two blushing Genin. "I really hope that you're more careful these days. That sort of thing can get you or your teammates killed in the field."
Dazed and disoriented, Hinata opened her eyes and promptly forgot about the pain in her head. She had landed on top of Naruto with their hands trapped between their chests. More importantly, they were face-to-face and so close that their noses were touching! And all she could see were blue eyes. Hinata instantly turned the color of a ripe tomato. It was too much for the poor girl. Oh no! I'm going to faint!
Smiling at her already red student, Kurenai whispered soft platitudes. It was rather funny, but the poor girl felt self conscious enough as it was.
When Iruka arrived on the scene a few minutes later, he found a Naruto sitting on the steps with an unconscious Hinata lying beside him. Her head was pillowed on his lap. Their hands were still tied together by red string. Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know what happened here?"
Smiling, Iruka sighed. "No, I probably don't."
"Ah! Iruka-sensei! Hinata and I were playing Cat's Cradle and we got stuck," Naruto said in embarrassment. "When I jumped up to find you, I knocked our heads together. I think I must have hit her head too hard because Hinata passed out. Can you help us out?"
Sighing, Ino shot her old rival a look. "Quite the observant teammate you've got there forehead."
Covering her eyes, Sakura groaned. "Not a word, Ino-pig."
That night, Hinata fell asleep with a smile on her face. She the weakest Hyuuga had done it again: something right. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't as big a failure as she thought. Maybe she was able to change a little bit. Hinata dreamt of blue eyes and Eskimo kisses.
Absorbing the sensation of happiness her analogue radiated, Hinata smiled softly at her own sleeping figure.
Authors Notes
I'm sorry for the delay in production, but too many things lumped together over the last two weeks. I am literally a week away from finishing one of my courses, and coupled with a couple of trips and the like, free time went bye-bye.
Anyways, I'm glad people are (mostly) happy with this story so far. I will admit that I tried to find the best authors I could, and that some people might disagree with my choices. But everyone has their favorites and as such this is just my attempt to share my own.
Oh, and yes we will be continuing One Small Step for a few chapters, although once my classes end I hope to finish up fairly quickly.
Now then, the biggest bit of confusion that I ve had to deal with so far is how the characters are interpreting the information that is not spoken aloud. Honestly, that was the biggest issue I had to deal with when shifting the presentation into a three dimensional experience instead of reading words off a page. So I decided on the whispering in the back of the skull idea. I know that Vortex tried to explain it in the story, but he s rather high handed with his explanations. So I ll try to break it down for you.
Let s take the following line from earlier in the story.
Unless Iruka had never seen Naruto play ninja games with the other children. Could it be...
Now, when this line was presented, Iruka would have sort of heard it whispered in the back of his mind. He would assume that it was just his impression based upon observing his analogues actions and interactions with Naruto s younger analogue. It s mostly subliminal and allows a greater understanding of the situation.
However, since Iruka is the one who originally generated the thought, he is the only one who would get a perfect interpretation of the thought in the first place. So when Kiba experienced the same thing, it came out something like this
Naruto didn t play with kids, he didn t think, right?
While technically correct, it's different enough to be confusing. But that's just how Kiba s brain interpreted the thought, because he thinks in a different fashion than Iruka.
I hope that helps!
