Author's Note: This chapter you guys might recognize from the dearly departed EX-chapter 3. So if you don't want to read it, I'm not killing you. I just like this chapter. I guess. I think I wrote them better back then.

Yo, this stupid site keeps on screwing with what I actually write, dangit! Darn it, flashback scenes are going to DIE here... And they keep on moving my things!


WHAAAT?! NARUTO DOESN'T-?!

By: biacebaolck

Naruto thoughtfully tapped the eraser tip of the pencil against his upper lip, before blowing out a frustrated sigh out of his mouth, throwing the pencil in a tantrum onto the table top. It bounced, and he barely watched it before leaning back in his seat so that only the back legs touched the ground, the back of his seat supported by the table behind him. He placed his hands behind his head as he boredly counted the tiles of the ceiling.

The one behind him waited patiently, watching his hair move as the slight breeze that came through the door. It seemed so peaceful, so peaceful, that—

"Oi!" He slammed his chair back down and stared meaningfully. "What are you doing?!"

"W-wha?" Startled at being caught so abrubtly…

"I mean, what're you doing?! I'm doing this…this…" He turned back to his paper and just slapped it angrily. "JUNK!"

"O-oh…I-I'm doing…"

"Oo, healing…you're taking a healing entrance exam?" Naruto peered at her sheet. "Sugoi, Hinata-chan!" Hinata blushed at his praise.

"A-ano…I just…j-just…" She bowed her head and timidly turned her attention to her fingers, poking both her indexes together nervously. "…I-I've seen so m-many sh-shinobi c-come back harmed a-and I want t-to try to help."

"That's real cool!" Naruto grinned and then he laughed, getting up and sitting backwards from the way he was normally supposed to sit, his legs out from behind the backsweat of the chair. He folded his arms onto her table, mostly covering up her paper and that sudden movement caused her to look up at him…as if, she hadn't already looked…

"W-what are you doing, N-Naruto-kun?"

"I dunno." He sighed through his nose, a wriggly line for his mouth curving down as he plopped down his head onto his arms, eyes closing.

"N-nani?" Hinata was confused…AND embarrassed. "A-ano…N-Naruto-kun, I-I have to do my exam—"

"NOPE."

"N-nani?!" She recoiled away when he leaned forward, knees on his chair seat, a wild grin on his face, blue eyes glinting.

"I said, 'nope'." He laughed.

"B-but—"

"Because I want you to come with me and eat Ramen!" He whined, getting jumpy in his seat and leaning back, hands on the seat back and a pout on his face. "Ugh! STUPID TEST!" He threw his hands up the air.

"HEY! YOU!" Pieces of chalk hit his head and sent him flying forward onto Hinata's whole sheet. The poor girl gave a squeak as she nearly tumbled from her seat, but somehow managed to stay on, despite the uncomfortable position she was in with Naruto's face near her… Anko looked like she was ready to kill. "Haven't I already sucked out your blood at the Chuunin Exams?! Get on with that stupid exam, idiot!"

Naruto's ear heard that and he twitched, recovering quickly as he nursed the wound on his head. "OH YEAH, YOU HAG?!"

Anko snapped the book she was holding in two. "OH, YEAH, BRAT! I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YO—"

"Now, now, Anko-san." Iruka sweat out as he put her in a full nelson (you don't know that term, you go look at it in wikipedia, go on, you). "I'm sure Naruto didn't mean that—"

"OH YES I DID, IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto fumed, jumping on top of his table, despite the annoyed and twitching glares and glances of the ones at his table and around him in the whole room. "SHE'S UGLY, SHE'S BITCHY, AND SHE'S A FRICKING VAMPIRE!"

"Naruto!" Iruka hissed out, all the while thinking, 'Baka! I was trying to fix this peacefully, but…' With a sigh, he kneed Anko in the back, like Ibiki-san had taught him to and floored her, knees on her legs, arms pinning her down. "Please, Anko-san, promise me you won't kill or harm Naruto in any way."

"Lemee go, Iruka!" She growled, struggling. "I'm gonna give that brat a piece of my mind—"

"Do I have to call Ibiki-san?" He wailed as a desperate attempt and she stopped.

"…can I hurt Ibiki instead?"

"P-please don't…" Iruka sighed, letting her up and scratching his head, before shooting an annoyed glance at Naruto who had crossed his legs onto his seat and crossed his arms and was blowing out smoke from his nostrils. "Naruto," He said firmly. "come with me. You'll do your test in another room."

"PLEASE." Anko muttered to herself. "So I don't have to kill him."

"NEH! HAG!" At the doorway, Iruka guiding, Naruto had wheeled around and pulled down his lower eyelid, sticking out his tongue in that disrespectful manner. "HAG HAG HAG HAG HAG!"

Then he was off, laughing maniacally as Anko thundered after him.

Around her, people sniggered, or talked bad about Naruto, but Hinata couldn't help but smile, as for some reason, what Naruto had last said to her drifted to the top of her mind as she went back to her test.

"Because I want you to come with me and eat Ramen!"

Somehow, Hinata found that she couldn't really concentrate. Luckily, she had finished most of the exam already so…

That day, Hyuuga Hinata found her thoughts wondering to the shinobi who had taught her to stand up for herself, the shinobi who she had always looked up to and who she always wanted to be like. But she didn't hate it. In fact, a smile was on her face the whole day.

It didn't vanish…until she was back at home.

"Hinata." Her father addressed her.

"Ah!" She smiled. "H-hello father—"

"You are late." He interrupted, eyes sternly pouring into her soul. Her smile broke and her eyebrows furrowed together as he ordered, "Follow me. We have much to discuss and do." Somehow, somehow…

Somehow, Hinata didn't think this was good. Not good at all.


Naruto gave out a sigh as he threw his pencil aside so that it dug into the wall, and threw the paper airplane at Iruka's bowed head as the teacher marked exams, before plopping his chin onto the table boredly, breathing in deeply before giving out a big sigh from his nose.

"Wha-? Hey!" Iruka looked at Naruto with such ridicule the boy flinched, before unfolding the airplane and smoothing it out. "Naruto," He sighed. "You do realize, that if I was any other teacher, you'd have failed for making your exam into a plaything?"

"Exactly why I did it." Naruto replied, his head bobbing up and down as he kept his chin rested on the table.

"Naruto…" Iruka rubbed his temples, but didn't say anything more. "…you may leave now."

"Nah, I think I'll stay here for—"

"This room'll be in use for a teacher meeting. Are you sure you'd like to join us in the marking?" Iruka baited. He hadn't even finished speaking when Naruto raced out of the door, a blur, leaving a windy streak behind him. Luckily, Iruka had had enough foresight to put a paperweight on the papers. "Now to get back to work." Iruka sighed, hand supporting his chin as he boredly marked the sheet full of scribbles that no other teacher than him could read.

It sounded crazy, but over time, Iruka had learned how to read the boy's handwriting, even though other teachers had had Naruto longer than he had ever had.

Iruka paused, lifting his head from his arm and lowering it, his pen paused above the sheet as his eyes viewed and answer. Then he gave a groan and cradled his head in his hands. "…Narutohow many times…have I told you to show your work neatly?"

Indeed, the sheet was a jumbled mess of scribbles in the Show your work section.

Iruka had his work cut out for him.


"No, no, no…" Naruto grumbled as he scrolled through what kinds of ramen Ichiraku Ramen sold. "…no…not that…" Somehow, he didn't feel like eating any of them, even though he had a super hungry stomach that was certainly not afraid to let him know. None of the ramen choices appealed to him, so when he arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, he just sat on his seat and just folded his arms on the table, resting his entire face on it.

It didn't take long for Teuchi to notice his number one customer.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

"…I'm starving."

"Well," Teuchi laughed a throaty laugh. "There's plenty of ramen ready to be serv—"

"I don't want ramen." Naruto mumbled, lifting his head only slightly so that his eyes watched Teuchi. The rest of his face was still covered by his arms.

Teuchi was so shocked, he dropped the pan he was holding.

CLANG!

"FATHER!" Ayame was at his side instantly, angrily picking them up as her stunned father just ogled at Naruto. "That's the THIRD pan you've broken! Why've I such a stupid klutz for a fa—" She noticed Naruto. "Oh. Hello, Naruto-kun. What's wrong? You look famished. I'll go and cook some ramen." Immediately, she placed the pieces in the garbage can. "What kind do you want? We just replenished so—"

"No ramen, please."

Ayame dropped the chopsticks and the spices.

Teuchi snapped out of his shocked stupor and fell to the ground, protecting the spices and chopsticks. "Ayame!" He cried tears. "How could you do this to me?! You nearly wasted! I thought I taught you better than—"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" She yelled at him, and poor Teuchi curled up in the corner of the store, blue flames sprouting around him.

"My little girl is in her rebellious age…" Was what was heard.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He knew he was being selfish, but in all honesty, he wanted to eat something from Ichiraku Ramen—partly because it was the only store he really knew well, partly because he knew he wouldn't get kicked out—but then, he didn't want ramen.

"WHY NOT…?" Ayame pounded her palms flat onto the kitchen counter top as she bewilderedly tried to make sense of all this. "WHO are YOU and WHAT have YOU done with NARUTO-KUN?!"

"…ano…Ayama-nee-chan, I just feel tired…that's all…dattebayo."

At hearing his familiar catchphrase, Ayame gave a sigh of relief.

"At least we know it's you, Naruto-kun. But…" She placed her hands on her hips. "Why don't you want ramen?"

"I dunno…" Naruto rolled his head to the side, freeing his lower face and allowing air to come properly through. His eyes seemed dull and bored. "…I'm tired. I'm bored and I dunno…I just dunno…"

"Did you get turned down by Sakura-kun?" She asked.

"Uh-uh." He mumbled, shaking his head slightly, turning his attention to the chopstick holder on top of the counter.

"I see…"

Naruto grunted.

"Okay, so maybe I don't, Naruto-kun, but there's seriously…" Ayame thought for a moment. "Do you have a fever, Naruto-kun?"

"Mm-mm." Naruto heaved his shoulders up slightly before letting them down and shaking his head slightly. At least, he didn't think so.

"Well…" Ayame peered at him, before deducting. "You certainly look tired. Tell you what, Naruto-kun, I'll pack you several takeout bowls, alright? You must be sick, sort of, so you go home, place the takeout somewhere where it'll stay warm—preferably, the microwave, I guess, I dunno, I've never tried keeping ramen warm—anyway, go to bed, okay? It's on me."

"Thanks, Ayame-nee-chan…" Naruto forced himself to droll out, even though he wasn't really feeling thankful. To be honest, he felt like… He buried his face in his arms again as his ears listened unwillingly to the sounds of ramen cooking.

Naruto didn't know how he managed to get home that night, stumbling and feeling dizzy, vision going hazy once in a while with the urge to throw up somewhere, and his tired body aching, but all he knew was that he had slammed the door shut with his foot from behind him, ignored the yelling of the neighbours—his ears hurt then, and then his forehead and temples—and placed the takeout container somewhere before tromping off to his room, where, without taking off his clothes or anything, he fell forward on the mattress and fell asleep way before he even started to fall.


Hinata awoke the next day, her head pounding. Eyebrows furrowed as she remembered what day it was today. Sunday. Somehow, she got dressed putting all clothing articles on the correct parts of her body and somehow, she got out of her room, down the hall, down the stairs and downstairs.

She didn't feel like eating breakfast, and didn't have a taste for anything that was on the menu today, so she just requested some oatmeal. Lukewarm, if she may have. Of course she got it. A Hyuuga always got what they want.

Oatmeal was easily to be swallowing, if by anyone's standards, but then again, she wondered as she finished, was there a point in eating with etiquette?

She thanked the maker for the meal, before standing up and bowing to her father, departing, the night's events beforehand blurry in her mind. It had happened all so fast…so fast, and, it was…just like a nightmare.

Hinata wasn't sure whether or not it had been real, but nevertheless…

She had walked about more than halfway to Team 8's training grounds before remembering…that they had a day off today. She felt sick to her stomach as she turned to walk back home. Oh, how Hinata longed for that bed, she longed for sleep. Right now, she tasted the sick taste of oatmeal in her mouth.

The remaints of her last meal threatened to burst out, but somehow, she swallowed the sick and vile tasting concoction back down, body trembling as she leaned against a wall for support. Hinata panted, and her chest heaved.

"Hey, you alright?" A passerby stopped and asked kindly. Hinata forced herself to face her, her vision woozy as it hazed. She made a garbled sound, and huffed harder against the wall. "Do you need help?" She nodded, though she felt lightheaded, as the black-haired woman helped her sit down against the wall. "My name is Shizune, and I'm a trained medic nin. What I need you to do is breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Breathe in as much as you can through your nose and let it out. Slowly, slowly, not that fast…"

Hinata tried to do as the nice woman instructed, but it felt like every breath was a fight to the end. She felt weaker than she had before as she rested her head, tried, ever so tired, against the wall. Shizune knelt down beside her in order to better help her.

"Okay, now, I'm going to do a secondary check to see if you have any injuries, alright?" Shizune requested. "What's your name?"

"Hinata." She gasped out.

"Don't strain yourself." Shizune placed her hand over Hinata's heart and a greenish glow surrounded it. Hinata felt a little better and was thinking a little clearer as Shizune continued. "Do you have any medical history? Do you take any medication?"

"Uh-uh." She shook her head.

"Alright then, has this happened before?" Shizune prompted as she placed a hand on Hinata's forehead and Hinata felt her head stop aching as the greenish glow reappeared around the woman's hand. She shook her head in reply, and Shizune took her hand. "I'll take your pulse now, and then I'll do a breathing check, alright? Okay, your pulse is fine, it's still there, breathe normally, alright?" She placed her hands on Hinata's sides. "Normally…relax…that's it…"

"Uhm…" She mumbled rather intelligently, before biting her lip.

"Hinata, is it?" Shizune smiled. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'm due for a very important meeting, though, so I can't stay with you long. If the problem persists or happens, go to your family doctor, health clinic or the hospital, alright?"

"Arigatou…ah…Shizune-san…" Hinata mumbled. "I d-didn't mean to t-take up your time…" She turned red. 'She must think I'm a ditz…' She bit her lip, but was surprised to see Shizune still smiling at her.

"Don't worry." The woman placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "The reason I'm training to become a better medic-nin is because I want to help others when they're in trouble. It's alright, Hinata-san. Now…" Shizune stood up and took in a deep breath before letting it out. "Can you stand, Hinata?" Hinata tried, expecting herself to fall, but surprisingly, her legs, though shaky and quaking, managed to support her weight, and she took a couple of steps forward. "That's good. I have to go, but watch out for yourself, alright?"

"I will…t-thank you…"

Shizune left, and Hinata smiled at the sun…before remembering her father's words the day before…


"Hinata, as my eldest daughter, I am rather disappointed in you. Hanabi is your junior, yet she is more of a shinobi than you will ever be. The best way to remedy this is for you to stop fraternizing with those want-to-be shinobi. Do not talk to that Uzumaki boy. He is nothing more than trouble, and if you disobey me, the consequences will be harsh above all. Do you understand me, Hyuuga Hinata? …you are dismissed."
"I can't see…N-Naruto-kun…any more?" She whispered to herself. "Why…?" Tears sprouted as she cried. She liked him, really liked him—it would be nothing to say that she loved him, but…if she couldn't talk to him…

"Oh…hi, Hinata." A familiar voice peeked around the corner and she lifted up her head, trying desperately to wipe away those tears before he saw, but she couldn't stop. Hinata remembered that moment that once she started crying, she couldn't stop immediately and that just made her feel worse. To act like her old self in front of the one she loved. "You come here too? I'm bored and I don't feel so well, so I don't think I can take you out to ramen toda—EH?! Hinata-chan? What's wrong?!"

"N…nothing…" She avoided his gave and tried to walk past him, but—

Naruto pressed her against the wall, tired blue eyes glaring intensely at her. "Don't tell me it's nothing, Hinata-chan! I walked all this way to talk to you and then what?! You give me the cold shoulder like everyone else does?!" He let her go, and angrily stuffed his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched. "If…if that's the way you wanna be…then…FINE WITH ME!" He stomped off.

Hinata felt worse than ever as she sank down from the wall, tears still flowing.

Naruto hated her. And he didn't…he'd never…he wouldn't ever think of her as nothing but a nuisance ever again…

She didn't notice that he hadn't been wearing his headband and that his clothing looked sluggishly put on. Hinata also didn't notice his trembling shoulders as he rounded the corner and a few blocks later, clench his hands against the wall, asking himself, "Did I do something…to piss Hinata-chan off? It's not fair…not fair…she's so nice, so why…" His eyes grew teary, but Naruto refused to cry. "…why? Why was she acting like everyone else used to?! WHY?!"

It took only a few seconds, before Naruto pushed that hurt feeling down and swallowed, before putting on a grinning face, carefree, and walking past the villagers back home to his apartment. But he felt ache in his chest.

When Naruto arrived, he closed the door softly behind him, before falling back first on the couch, legs and arms, whole body sprawled out, as he stared boredly up at the ceiling. "Why…?" He whispered to himself, his eyes almost empty.

He didn't know what to think.

Hyuuga Hinata, one of his good friends…

…the lump in his throat remained even after he tried swallowing several times to get that cold feeling down.

"Why would she do that…?" his voice broke before he could continue and he looked sadly at that ceiling, finding only slight comfort in the chipping white paint base that had been with him all the years of his life he had been in this apartment. Forever.

Forever gone,

The wind whispered, blowing a leaf by the window, a leaf that never caught Naruto's attention.

And never will come back.

It split into two and then the two parts swished away by separate wind currents.

Gone.

Goodbye, then. See you again.

I shan't see you again.

Never?

Never.

Never?

NEVER.