Hay you guys: Oh my God, this is a monster! 14 pages! Nearly 5600 words... all story! My hands hurt. Even worse, FF was screwy and wouldn't let me finish editing in time! D: Man, I feel for all the writers out there, especially those who spend so much time on this stuff. Anywho, I hope this holds you guys over for a while, next chapter will be Tuesday again(I hope.). Thanks for the reviews, and lemme know what you think!
Quick Note: Found some mistakes here and in Chapter 2, they should be fixed. Percent signs don't work, apparently.
Disclaimer: Ug no own Naruto. Ug no own Venture Brothers. Me no own them, either(Yeah, that's right, no Sire Wars this time!).
To Hold the Sun
Chapter 3: Academy days
The first year at the Academy started out well enough. Naruto made a point to try and get to know everyone at the Academy, with Hinata always beside him, if only to prove that the boy was capable of making friends.
Ok, so she really wanted to stay by her only friend. Who wouldn't?
Many Academy students, apparently. The majority tried their utmost to stay away from Naruto. Those that didn't? Well...
One of the first students he tried to befriend was Sakura Haruno. Naruto thought she was rather cute. She would make a good friend. She'd probably like being called "-chan" too.
Except replace "like" with "hate you so much you get a fist in your face".
And "probably" with "absolutely".
After spending the better portion of that day with an ice pack over his then swollen eye, Naruto was having different thoughts.
Screw it, she wasn't THAT pretty... Hinata-chan's cuter.
It was a unanimous decision(Ok, unanimous as far as two people could be) that they both kept some distance from the quite-possibly bipolar girl.
Actually, after they saw a pile of girls try and mangle each other trying to get close to Sasuke Uchiha, with Ino Yamanaka actually making an attempt at biting a girl's arm off...
Hinata seemed to be the only sane girl in their class.
Speaking of Sasuke, at first, he just seemed to be an over-achiever, too focused to notice the not-so-deadly-to-him mob trying to go for his affections.
Sadly, it got worse.
Naruto knew of the Uchiha massacre before the rest of the Academy, but only through Hinata. While she wasn't really interested in gossip, hearing your clan talk of the murder of another clan, in the same village, no less, was not a thing to ignore. The fact that the Hokage asked the men of the Hyuuga to clean up the mess and give one of their rivals a burial was interesting as well.
The deed was somehow done by Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother, and pride of his clan. Hinata herself could not fathom why he would do such a thing, although a few clan members had stated that the Uchiha were rather unseemly.
As the end result of this, however, Sasuke became even more devoted to becoming stronger. His originally eager, yet calm attitude had been replace with an uncaring, cynical one. When Naruto tried to befriend him, the Uchiha brushed him off, saying that there was no time for friends, and certainly not any weak goofballs.
Of course, 98 percent of the girls in class didn't seem to notice, or care...
It should have been 99 percent, but Naruto and Hinata noticed Sakura had at least some sense, actually avoiding the giant catfight perpetually in front of Sasuke and trying to console him, which never seemed to work.
After getting hit in the face again after trying to befriend her for the second time, though, Naruto simply chalked it up to her simply getting smarter as a fangirl.
Another strange side effect of the Uchiha clan's near-total demise, however, Naruto was no longer ambushed by angry villagers at night. He tried to stay home at night, but sometimes he ended up wandering the streets anyways, with a bunch of them coming out of nowhere, leading to his tried-but-true "Run-through-the-forest-and-evade-them" technique.
Although it was more of the ANBU's "Ambush-and-nullify-the-threat" operation... but Naruto never needed to know that, so calling it his own wasn't a problem to them.
Naruto and Hinata did make a few acquaintances, however. Shikamaru Nara was one of the laziest... all right, the laziest person they had ever met. Wanting to spend more time watching clouds and playing Shogi or Go than anything else, he called everything a drag on his life... at least for the first couple of years they met him, then he simply went for being more intellectual and call everything troublesome. He never really saw them as too much of a problem(Although Naruto's impatience was pretty troublesome), though, and spent an occasional day with them, discussing important subjects.
Like clouds.
Or how the ground is too hard in some spots to lay on.
Or complaining about the weather.
Just not altogether. Days with Shikamaru were never very active.
It was through the lazy Nara that they met Chouji Akimichi, the "pleasantly plump"(Naruto learned the HARD way not to call him fat), constantly eating buddy of Shikamaru. He was always the go-to guy for a good snack... just never the last one. Hinata did try to improve his eating habits, but seeing him shriek like a girl, and then pass out, at the mention of salad...
Let's just say the boys had a lot of blackmail material.
Despite that, Chouji enjoyed their company, and made a note to carry a spare bag of snacks for them, just in case.
No guarantees, though. Some days he was just ravenous.
Shino Aburame was an... interesting person. He was extremely intelligent, and with his glasses and coat covering most of his features, as well as his neutral voice, no one could really guess his emotions. That never stopped Naruto and Hinata from trying to be friends with him. They learned that Shino was very frank about what he had to talk about.
Like his bugs. Naruto thought it was cool.
Hinata, while a bit disturbed, was more worried if they were hurting him, with them crawling all inside his body and what-not.
It was Shino's opinion that, while hyperactive or meek, depending on which person of the pair you were speaking of... were not particularly harmful to his emotional stability.
Hinata told Naruto that meant that they were good people to have around.
Then there was Kiba Inuzuka. Now, the guy seemed rather nice, and didn't seem to think less of either Naruto or Hinata... but half the time he just seemed to ignore Naruto, and glue himself to Hinata, giving her a rather large amount of attention.
For Hinata, this was uncomfortable. She liked her personal space... with a blond-haired exception, of course.
Naruto, however, was annoyed. Kiba was just ignoring him, and trying to spend time with his best friend! How dare he!
No, Akemi never got around to teaching Naruto boy/girl relationships, why do you ask? Not so much with jealousy, either.
Days with Kiba normally resulted in either: Naruto just growling at Kiba from a few feet away, trying to get Hinata away from Kiba, or, his personal favorite, beating the snot out of the guy, with Kiba wondering what the hell Naruto was doing.
It's not like Naruto was kissing her, right? That meant she was available.
This, of course, was what Iruka Umino had to deal with.
8-year-olds trying to kill each other over relationships.
There really had to be something in the water. Why else would they be acting like teenagers instead of flinging mud pies at each other?
Talking to Naruto and Hinata, though, let Iruka find out that only the Sasuke Fan Clubâ„¢ and the Inuzuka seemed to have had any sort of mind-altering substances.
Naruto was only worried about his best friend, and for the longest time, his only one. As such, Iruka let Naruto off the hook, telling him to try and hold his temper, as well as telling Hinata to take an active role in getting out of the situation.
This led to the obvious conclusion: Naruto using Hinata's arm to try and beat Kiba up and poke him in the eye.
Iruka simply resigned himself to try and minimize the total damage this kid's antics would cause. It was gonna be a looooong four years...
Over the first two years at the Academy, Iruka got to know Naruto and Hinata some more. He took them to Ichiraku's from time to time, in order to hear the stories of the lives they led.
Teuchi and Ayame, the two who worked and owned the stand, would bless the Kamis for sending them the best customer in the history of ever.
Iruka would curse himself for getting Naruto addicted to ramen. Even moreso for getting stuck with the bill. The kid was a bottomless pit. How could he eat that much!?
Nonetheless, the Chuunin instructor would hear how the two were raised by Akemi, and how they managed to pull through her tragic demise. The idea managed to click together that Naruto had begun pulling pranks as a way for Hinata to have some joy in her life, and Iruka found some newfound respect for the boy.
People see this boy as a threat... I see someone the Yondaime would be proud of. He's a good kid.
There were many times Iruka had talks with Naruto regarding his grades. While putting much effort into his work, Naruto simply didn't match up to par with the rest of the class. The problem, however, was that Naruto didn't have a lot of guidance. The teachers would always find a way to weasel around the child's requests for help, even though his grades had him as the worst student. Iruka had far too many duties to give Naruto proper help, though, and it made him furious.
Because of this, Iruka suggested that Naruto train with Hinata. It would allow him to learn what he needed, and with the amount of energy the kid put into training, he would very quickly catch up to Hinata's level, and they both could then benefit. Iruka had heard of Hinata's troubles at home: until Hinata got into the Academy, Hiashi had been horribly rough with the girl, always calling out and stressing her weaknesses, and pushing her to the breaking point. It was a miracle that Naruto was there for her... she might have taken her own life otherwise.
While Hiashi stopped being so unrealistic with his daughter, he still had a high standard for his daughter to reach, and would continue to give her stern instruction. Instead of cursing her mistakes, he would go and correct them. He was still not the man before his wife died, but Hiashi no longer tried to destroy her spirit.
Sadly, Hinata's emotions were still under attack by the Hyuuga elders, as well as her cousin, Neji, the clan's so-called "cursed genius". The elders called her unfit to be a clan head. Her cousin called her spoiled. Both called her weak.
Her confidence needed a boost. Naruto needed some help. Win-win situation, right?
Iruka hoped so.
The third year kicked off with the addition of a new instructor, Mizuki Touji. Like Iruka, he took an interest in Naruto and Hinata's training and success at the Academy.
Speaking of, by the end of the second year, Naruto was no longer dead last in the class rank. That title now belonged to Shikamaru. Like he cared.
But, Naruto was now second dead last. Iruka thought the problem would be solved with Naruto working together with Hinata. It wasn't the fact that Naruto didn't understand what was being taught... mostly(Hinata tried to teach Naruto stuff other than combat, but the kid kept falling asleep...).
It was his chakra control. No matter what the jutsu, he used far too much. Putting that much chakra into a jutsu would just overload it, and cause it to fail. Again, Iruka couldn't find the time to help Naruto out much, and could only hope Hinata could help him as well as she can.
Speaking of, Iruka had taken time to talk to her about Naruto's friendship. Now, he wasn't exactly an expert on romance, but the girl had done many, many things that were above and beyond being just friends. The amount of ninja tools and food she had bought Naruto was just staggering...
It was hard to do(Well, for his bank account... Naruto never passed up free ramen), but the Chuunin managed to get Naruto to run some errands for him, while he and Hinata took a seat at a small restaurant.
I don't exactly like going to this place, but I had to find somewhere to talk to her alone. Ichiraku's just wouldn't cut it. Might as well get started...
"So, Hinata..."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei?" Thankfully, two years of meeting at Ichiraku's had gotten Hinata used to her teacher and friend.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about Naruto."
Hinata's eyes shifted downward. "I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. I know the year's almost up, but we haven't made much progress with Naruto-kun's chakra control..."
Putting on a smile, Iruka diffused her worry. "Oh, don't worry so much about that. We've still got a year for it to work out."
"Um, then why did-"
"Exactly how much do you like Naruto?" No beating around the bush. Right to the point.
The Hyuuga girl didn't miss the emphasis. Now looking like a tomato with her blush, she tried to reply. "I-I, Um, Uh..."
Looks like she does have a crush on him, at least. "So, you do like him."
Hinata quickly shook her head.
This surprised him. Wait, what? Then why is she... "You don't like him?"
Not like him? The boy who was her only friend for so long? The boy who helped her cope with her mother's death, and the torment her family put her through after? The boy who always put a smile on her face, even if it meant he would get in trouble? The boy who always looked out for her, and helped her make more friends? The boy she trained with, got stronger with? Iruka didn't understand.
Like wasn't close enough.
"N-no... I love him."
Iruka's smile returned. I thought as much. "That's a big claim there, Hinata. But how much, though? How far would you go for him?"
"I would do anything."
"Would you give up your career, your dreams, if it meant it would help him?"How far will it go for this, Hinata?
Her answer was without fear. "I would give up my life if it would help him... if it would save him."
Last one, then. Iruka wanted to be certain of this. "If you had a choice, would you choose Naruto's life over another friend's?"
Hinata lowered her head. She knew her answer, but still didn't exactly like it. "Yes. Without a doubt."
For all the suffering he's been through, it's good to know he has truly absurd luck in the romance department... lucky teme.
Nodding, Iruka simply said, "That's good to hear. Don't worry about him not noticing you. Eventually, he'll see what he's got, and he'll never let go."
Not even her cousin could get rid of her smile that day.
With only a few weeks left in the fourth year, Iruka was doubting two things.
First, Naruto's ability to pass the Academy's final exam. While Naruto had some improvement over his chakra control, he was still sorely lacking in the ability to form a proper bushin. What was worse about this was that if Naruto couldn't form that bushin in time for the exam, he would fail, and be kept from becoming a Genin. If that happened, Hinata would graduate, and be forced to leave Naruto behind. The Hyuuga clan simply would not let her stay at the Academy for another year... especially if it was only because of Naruto.
Speaking of Hinata, that was his second concern. Nearly a year had passed since Iruka confirmed Hinata's feelings for Naruto, and the pair's behavior as a whole remained unchanged.
Except for the fact that Hinata refused to leave Naruto's side. For anything or anyone. Naruto, being Naruto, didn't seem to notice a thing.
Iruka was thinking he should've talked to Naruto first.
It was a good thing, then, that Iruka had managed to find some time during Hinata's training sessions at home to take the boy out to Ichiraku's.
"It's been awhile since we had some guy-time, huh?"
Naruto looked a bit confused about the term. "Guy-time? What's that?"
"Well, it's a time where guys talk about guy stuff. No girls allowed, you know?"
Living with a girl most of his life made this concept very strange. "What could I possibly talk about? I tell Hinata-chan everything."
Time to lay the trap. With a sly smirk, Iruka asked, "Even how much you like her?"
"Yeah... sheesh, I said everything!"
This caught the Chuunin off guard. They've been going steady for a YEAR? Damn, they're good at keeping a secret. "Looks like I was worried over nothing. You're doing good, Naruto. She really needed that."
A wide smile was put upon Naruto's face. "It's no problem at all. Anything for my best friend, Iruka-sensei!"
Somewhere in the distance, one could hear a crow: "Ba...kaw!"
Iruka had to make sure he didn't hear wrong. "Wait, so you told her she's your best friend?"
"Yup, all the time!"
I should've known... "Naruto, do you know what love is?"
"Um... it's when people really like each other, right?"
"Close. It's when you like a person enough that you would do pretty much anything for them, no matter what. Now then, do you think you love Hinata?" He's not even embarrassed. This kid's something else.
"Hmmm... well, yeah, I guess so." Still, Naruto was a bit lost. Ok, so I love her... still don't know where he's going with this.
"Naruto, would you do anything for Hinata?"
Now he's just making me repeat stuff. "I said yeah! I'd do anything!"
It was time for Iruka to get serious. "Even if it cost you your life?"
Oh, for crying out... Pounding his fist on the table for emphasis, Naruto decided to leave no questions. "I'd give up my life, I'd give up my dreams. I'd give up all I own.Everything. If it would help Hinata-chan, then there's nothing that would stop me!"
"What if you weren't risking just yourself? What if someone else's happiness was at-"
Naruto was just plain fed up at this point. "GAH! It. Doesn't. Matter! No matter who, or what gets in my way, if it would help her, save her, make her happy, or anything else, I'd do it! Now are you done, or do you have another pointless question for me!?"
I'll show you pointless. Chuckling, Iruka just asked, "Well then, does she know that you love her? Did you ever tell her that, specifically?"
"Oh. Um... I guess not." Naruto was a bit nervous now. "Is that bad?"
"Only a little bit. Here's what I suggest: tell her you love her. Get her gifts. Show you care about her. Give her hugs... and maybe, just maybe, she'll give you a kiss."
Now the boy began to panic. "WHAT!? Kiss? We can't have a baby!"
Wow, people really don't tell him anything, do they? "Naruto, kissing doesn't make babies. Anyways, you're gonna let her know how you feel, right?"
"Yeah, I will. Right after this, Iruka-sensei!"
"All right, then! Now, about your grades..."
Naruto went back to his now-cool bowl of ramen. Aw, man. Another lecture, and cold ramen to go with it! Still... I love her, huh?
Naruto was all ready to go and declare his love for Hinata, as he made his way to the training area where they met to train for the afternoon.
But Hinata wasn't the only person there.
"Mizuki-sensei, what are you doing here?"
The instructor grinned at him. "Just wanted to talk to you about the exam coming up. You master making a bushin yet?"
Frowning, Naruto replied, "No... not yet. I'm working really hard on it, but I still suck at that jutsu."
Hinata wanted to defend him. "H-he is trying, Mizuki-sensei, he's working very hard."
"That may be true, but he might not master it in time, right?"
Getting a small nod from both of them, Mizuki said, "Then you'll just have to take the special exam."
"Special exam? What do you mean?" Naruto really hoped this was his ticket to graduation.
Too easy. These kids are just plain gullible. "Well, lemme tell you how it works..."
Later that night, the Hokage's tower was in a panic.
"It's gone, it's gone!"
"Sound the alarms!"
"Get Hokage-sama!"
"Grab every ninja here! Top priority!"
In a matter of minutes, every shinobi available in Konoha was gathered in front of the Hokage on the roof.
Sarutobi kept a cool head, as always. "So then, one of our forbidden scrolls was taken from the tower? One filled with many of the kinjutsu forbidden by this village?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama. Reports indicate that it was taken by one Naruto Uzumaki."
Iruka's jaw nearly hit the floor. "What!? Naruto would never do such a thing! He'd never break a law like that!"
The Sandaime was inclined to agree. Naruto had no reason to steal the scroll, especially after the fact noone in the village was trying to physically harm the boy anymore. No, the angry mobs put together, and sent out, by Fugaku Uchiha were no longer a problem. It was still shocking how the Police Force documents had contained the orders to "Silence the beast"... but that wasn't the issue at hand. More importantly, Naruto wouldn't commit such an improper act. That is, unless...
His fears were confirmed by another shinobi's report. "Hokage-sama, we were also able to spot one Hinata Hyuuga accompanying him."
"Foul brat! Not her!"
"She's been corrupted by him! The cur!"
"Hokage-sama, this can't possibly be true! Hinata wouldn't let this happen!"
Uttering a sigh, Sarutobi made his point. "That may be true, Iruka, but you also know Naruto's determination for that girl. He'd do anything for her, that's a proven fact. Somehow, Naruto thought Hinata needed the scroll for something, and because of this, he took it."
Iruka couldn't argue with that logic. Naruto, you'd better have a good reason for this...
"Now, all of you are to search every inch of this village. Leave no stone unturned. Now go!" Such were the Hokage's orders.
In an instant, all the ninja had dispersed, searching everywhere for the two in question...
"You know, something really bugs me..."
Almostall the ninja.
"What, 21? He just explained the whole thing."
"No no, it's not that, 24. It's, well... is this place really a village?"
"Huh, it does seem to be a bit too big for that."
"Yeah, it seems it should be called a large town, or maybe a small city."
"I do kinda like the ring of City Hidden in-"
"GO!" Not even the Hokage had enough patience for those two.
"Oops, sorry, boss."
"Sorry."
Sighing again, he had to wonder. How on earth did those two become ANBU, let alone survive the job? Now's not the time. I must go and oversee these events personally. Hopefully Naruto realizes his folly...
It was in the training area they normally visited where Naruto and Hinata were, reading the scroll and hoping to properly perform one of the jutsus in there. Mizuki had told them that if they snuck a forbidden scroll out, master one jutsu from there, and put the scroll back undetected, that they could pass and be known as new shinobi of Konoha. Hinata had her doubts, but if this could pass Naruto, it'd be worth it.
It could also help if she learned something, too... maybe Neji would stop putting her down.
This entire page is full of hand seals...
Naruto was still practicing the jutsu he chose a few feet away past the bushes, so Hinata began to take her time and performed the hand seals. With the 108th hand seal done, she called out the jutsu's name:
"Megami Shin no Jutsu!"
After a few moments, it appeared that the jutsu didn't work. After checking if all the hand signs were correct, Hinata decided to turn the page of the scroll and find out what it actually does...
"Hey, Hinata-chan! You've got to try this!"
She would of, had Naruto decided to wait. But taking the scroll from her, he went to the part of the scroll that had the jutsu he used.
"This is the one! This is the jutsu I learned! Go ahead, try it!"
"You mastered a jutsu, Naruto-kun? Congratulations!"
"Yeah, I know! C'mon, try it out! If I can do it, so can you!"
The jutsu seemed to be an advanced bushin, from what Hinata could read. Going through the hand seals, she completed them and said:
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke, and a perfect replica of Hinata was standing next to her.
Hinata suddenly felt drained. She felt like she had trained for hours on end. How much chakra did this jutsu use? Her legs felt so weak...
Before Hinata fell, Naruto caught her and laid her upright on a nearby tree. "Aw, geez, I didn't know it used that much chakra... I'm sorry, Hinata-chan."
She was tired, but conscious. "It's ok... I didn't remember about how you had more chakra than me... I just... need to rest."
The shadow clone didn't seem exhausted, so Naruto decided to put her to work. "Hey, could you keep an eye out for Iruka-sensei up ahead?"
"Um, sure thing, Naruto-kun!"
The Hyuuga girl now thought she was delirious. "D-did you just..."
"Yeah, it's kinda weird. The clone I made actually congratulated me after I found out I could do it."
"How... strange."
"I wouldn't worry about strange things, you two!"
Both Naruto and Hinata turned to the voice they knew so well. Naruto was ecstatic. "Iruka-sensei! Wait until you found out what we learned!"
Walking into the clearing, Iruka said, "Learned? Naruto, you and Hinata and in big trouble!"
"Uh, Iruka-sensei, I know we didn't manage to sneak the scroll back in, but we did learn a jutsu from it, so I think we can pass the secret exam, right?"
Suddenly, Hinata felt her head fog over for a moment... Oh, no!
"Naruto-kun, look out!"
"What on earth are you two talking abo-" Iruka never finished his sentence, as an enormous shuriken cut him in two.
"Iruka-sensei!"
"Iruka-sensei!"
Mizuki landed on a nearby branch, carrying another giant shuriken on his back. "Well, that little interference was way too- whoa!"
Dodging the kunai that were now embedded in the tree trunk, the Chuunin noted that Iruka was again standing by the two students. Where he originally was was a small log, cut in half. Kawarimi... damn it.
"Mizuki, what is the meaning of this? You told them to take the scroll, didn't you?"
Smirking, Mizuki said, "Yeah, so I did. I gotta tell you, those two are Grade A suckers! They thought it was gonna be all right... and they fell for it! Makes my job easy."
"Job?"
"Yeah, that scroll's very valuable. But that's just the icing on the cake!" Moving his gaze to Hinata, he said, "My master would kill to have a Hyuuga. Those eyes, and the girl not having that damn seal? I couldn't believe my luck! Even better, though... is you!"
Mizuki was looking right at Naruto. "Uh, me?"
Iruka wouldn't have this. "Mizuki, stop this, you traitor!"
Said traitor couldn't care less. "C'mon, don't you wanna know why... why this village hates you? Loathes you? Tried to kill you?"
Naruto didn't think he'd hear this. "You know... and you'll... you'll tell me?"
"Damn it, Mizuki!" Iruka sent more kunai in Mizuki's direction.
They were dodged easily, however. "Yeah, lemme tell you a little story. You kids will love it. Almost twelve years ago, the 9-tailed fox demon, Kyuubi, nearly destroyed this village. Countless ninja lost their lives. Hundreds of families became broken that day. Even the Yondaime lost his life to that monster."
Naruto didn't exactly like history lessons. "And? What the hell's that got to do with me?"
Hinata had an idea where this was going, though.
She prayed she was wrong.
Mizuki was loving this. "Well, you should know. The Kyuubi was far too powerful to be killed by mortals. So, the Yondaime had to sacrifice his life..."
"Mizuki!No!"
"...to seal it away..."
Hinata gasped. Why? Why him?
"...in a newborn child! And that child... that child is you! You are the jinchuuriki of the most powerful demon ever, the Kyuubi!"
Naruto couldn't believe it... but for only a second. It all made sense. The nightly attacks out in the street, being shunned at every corner, the people at the orphanage not caring at all about him...
"But what about the kids at the Academy? A-and the adults who were nice to me?"
The traitor had the guts to laugh. "The old man Hokage made a stupid law saying people couldn't talk about it... some shit about thinking kids would like you. I don't know about you, but without your little girlfriend there, you probably wouldn't have anyone like you. And as for the adults... well, somebody had to take pity on poor, little, possessed you."
"Naruto, this isn't like that! You need to listen to me!" Iruka could only hope Naruto wouldn't fall for what else Mizuki was trying to pull.
"Aw, shut it! Look kid. You've got no life here. You'd never get to be Hokage. You could come with me... have a better life... have a chance to take out all these slimeballs that tried to put you down!"
Naruto looked to Hinata, the one person who was most important to his life, the only person who could help him make a choice. Did she fear him? Hate him? Pity him? Did she think any less of him?
Her eyes, while so full of sadness at the injustice called his life, were otherwise exactly the same since before this revelation. Trusting, hopeful. "Naruto-kun... I... I believe in you."
He had his answer. "No. Hell no!"
"You're kidding, right? Why the hell would you wanna stay?" Mizuki wasn't liking this turn of events, and his grimace was showing it.
"Because, as long as at least one person, just one... as long as they believe in me, in Naruto Uzumaki. Then I will stay. I will work, I will fight. I'll do everything I can to prove my worth to that person, and this entire village! This entire world!" Forming the hand signs for his newest jutsu, he declared, "Everyone will know the name Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage, and the greatest of them all!"
Screw this. I'll just knock him out before he does something stupid. "You won't beat me, brat!" But before Mizuki could pull out the senbons coated with the poison to paralyze his target, Naruto's chakra hit it's peak, becoming visible.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
A gigantic burst of smoke covered the field... and revealed an literalarmy of Narutos, numbering in the hundreds.
Kage Bushins? Dear Kami... he's not even tired! Iruka didn't know whether to be impressed by such a display, or scared shitless.
Being the target of this display, Mizuki was scared shitless. "N-no... W-w-way..."
A group over hundreds strong all voiced the same idea: "You're mine!"
Many tales would be told of Naruto Uzumaki in his early days... most of which would tell of his power in making a one-man-army. Some wouldn't believe it. Some would fear it.
Of those who rightly would fear it, Mizuki Touji would be the first.
After pounding flat the now-pulpy Mizuki, and dispelling the clones, Naruto handed over the forbidden scroll to Iruka, helped Hinata up to her feet, and began walking back home. Alone.
"Wait, Naruto-kun!"
Turning to Hinata, Naruto stated, "I know you aren't afraid of me, and do believe in me, but... if we stay close as friends, people will start to try and hurt you. People will find out you know my secret, and they'll hate you, just for being around me. I can't have that, Hinata-chan. I'm sorry." He turned back around, heading home...
For about three steps, before Hinata grabbed onto him, and had him in a hug, her own face full of tears. "I don't care! I don't mind. Naruto-kun... I don't want to be away from you. As long as I can be with you, it's ok..." Don't let him go, Hinata, you can do this! "I... I... l-love you. W-with all of my heart."
In the span of a second, she no longer faced his back, but his front, his own head on her shoulder, tears soaking it. "Thank you, Hinata-chan. Thank you. Please, stay by me. I would be the happiest guy ever if you did, b-because, well, I love you too. I can't live without you."
Their eyes meeting, both smiling, Hinata did the one thing she was dreaming about for years. One thing she always wanted, maybe even since they first met.
She kissed him. Hinata felt so happy... wonderful even. If it weren't for the fact she was feeling the kiss, she'd think she was in a dream. Heck, she'd even had the idea she might of just died. This just didn't seem real.
But he was there, and he was kissing her. And sharing her sentiments. He also was thinking her lips were fluffy pillows of a sort...
"Ahem."
Whatever fanciful and sweet music was being heard in their heads was cut short by their sensei, rather amused by their behavior. Par for the course for Hinata, but whaddya know? The boy can blush. "I don't exactly like ruining the moment, but we still need to report to the Hokage and explain the situation. After that, I can make it up to ya."
Naruto's redness was instantly replaced by a magical, one-toothed oval smile with sparkley eyes(A/N: Think Spongebob Squarepants or Patrick smiling when overly happy in the most 'tarded way). "Ichiraku's? Really?"
Shaking his head at Naruto antics, Iruka replied, "Yes, now let's hurry, or they'll be closed."
Managing a more normal smile, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand. "C'mon, Hinata-chan, let's go!"
"Yes, of course." You know I'd go anywhere with you, Naruto-kun.
Through his crystal looking-glass, Sarutobi simply chuckled at Naruto's antics. That may never change, will it, Naruto? I am happy, however. I wish you and Hinata the best. In this world, you'll need it.
He did remember other things, however. 108 seals... only one jutsu I know of has that many. It appears I have no choice. On the bright side, however, she'll finally be coming back home... hopefully to stay.
Next Chapter: The next day has Hinata waking up to the side affects to the jutsu she used. How will she deal with it, and what does the Hokage's guest have anything to do with it? Later on, Naruto and Hinata make the grade for the exam... and deal with a kid that has less fashion sense than Naruto himself!
Stuff you should know:
Bushin- used as the term for the illusionary clones used by ninja.
The crow- A common anime joke is for a character to do something stupid, and then have a shot of a crow fly by, cawing. The joke is that crows can seem like they say "Baka", which is Japanese for idiot/moron. As such, when you see it in anime, they always say baka for those moments.
Kinjutsu- stands for "Forbidden technique". Basically, jutsu that are banned from being taught and/or used, due to either the evil things they do, or because they are really harmful to the user.
Fugaku- Canon name for Sasuke's dad.
Megami Shin no Jutsu- stands for "Goddess Heart technique". You'll find out what it does next chapter...
Kage Bushin no Jutsu- actual name for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. There also a Tajuu Kage Bushin no Jutsu, which is what Naruto actually used on Mizuki here, but as a nod to the dub, which keeps both forms under the same name, I'll just refer to both as Kage Bushin.
Kawarimi- actual name for the substitution skill used in the manga/anime, full name being Kawarimi no Jutsu.
Kyuubi- The 9-tailed fox demon has a name, and it's Kyuubi no Youko. Mostly shortened to Kyuubi.
Jinchuuriki- "human sacrifice", the human vessels for the tailed demons.
Senbons- long, thin needles sometimes used in place of kunai. Quite a bit harder to detect.
