Let me be your eyes
-Chiba Hiro
Summary: Naruto has been blind since birth, but that's the least of his worries. His parents think that because he is blind-for possibly forever-he'll be weak for the rest of his life and that he'll be under constant protection and surveillance. He yearns to be free from his eternal prison and overprotective and paranoid parents. One day though, he is pushed beyond the limits of what he could take, so he runs away, far away. But, who is this girl he meets along the way? Will she be the one with the key to his freedom? NarutoxHinata, SakuraxSasuke, and NejixTenten pairings here. Please R&R.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its content. All of it belongs to the rightful creators!
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Chapter 3: Disability Class
Namikaze house-
Sasuke and Sakura have had a hectic week at the Namikaze house. They have been working almost nonstop. Ever since Naruto disappeared a week ago, Kushina had been running them into the ground by searching town. She woke them up very early in the morning and told them to search for Naruto, and she'd tell them not to return until either they found him or it was too late at night.
If the bags seen under their eyes were evident enough, they too had been distressed at Naruto's sudden disappearance. What could have caused Naruto to run away like that? They supposed it was about to happen sometime soon anyways, but they decided not to voice their opinion to the master of the house. Minato was by no means a cruel master, but he did deliver the necessary punishments when something went wrong in the Namikaze household.
Minato, meanwhile ordered his company to search for his son as well, but to no extent did they find him. Minato and Kushina refused to believe their son ran away. How could he? He isn't smart enough to just run away, right? They did what was necessary, right? They had reason to believe that Naruto was kidnapped, but people were starting to believe that he was indeed missing and gone for good.
As for Kurenai, she was fired as Naruto's tutor, and had gotten a new job as a disability class teacher at some school. But that did not make her worry less about Naruto and his safety. He was, after all blind and he probably wouldn't survive out there on his own, people would say. But Kurenai believed in him and that he would be able to help himself somehow.
Flashback-
Sakura knocked on Naruto's door to wake him up for breakfast, but when he didn't respond, she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door.
When she opened the door, she went over to the bed and found it stuffed with a small bundle. Naruto wasn't there. Sakura shivered and looked over to the window, and found it was opened wide.
She nearly panicked and ran outside to see if her young master was out there somewhere, but he wasn't. She called for Sasuke and the two searched the courtyard for him, but he was nowhere to be found. It was like all traces of Naruto's whereabouts disappeared. They reported to Kushina after they searched.
"Kushina-sama, Naruto-sama is missing." Sakura reported.
"What?" Kushina all but jumped out of her chair and spilled her coffee. "Are you sure?"
"We are sure, Kushina-sama." Sasuke said. "His bed was empty and was stuffed with a bundle of clothing and the door to his balcony was ajar, and he was nowhere to be found outside."
"This is…how could something like this happen?" Kushina was more than a little upset at this, she was distraught.
"Perhaps it was because you treated him unfairly last night?" Sasuke suggested indifferently. As soon as he said that, Kushina slapped him hard across the face, though he didn't make a sound.
"Sasuke!" Sakura was on him in a second, cradling his cheek worriedly.
"You dare make this our fault?" Kushina asked menacingly. "Know your place, Sasuke."
"Yes, ma'am." Sasuke said, and bowed to her. "I was out of line and shouldn't have said anything. Please forgive my insolence."
"You're damn right it's your insolence." Kushina said coldly. "I want you two to search town for him! Leave no stone unturned, and bring him back to me or die trying!"
"Yes, ma'am." Sasuke and Sakura bowed to her, and left to go find Naruto.
-End of Flashback
Meanwhile, back to the Hyuga residence-
At the dining table, Hiashi sat at the front of the table while his sister sat to his right. Hiashi's mother and father sat opposite of each other on either side of the table, while Hinata and Naruto sat at the very end. Lee, Tenten, and Neji just stood behind Hinata, waiting for further orders.
"Ahem! It has been a very eventful week, hasn't it?" Hiashi spoke casually, silencing their talking. "I know we don't get to eat together as a whole family in the morning like we should, but I just want to make our new houseguest as comfortable as possible."
"Uh, thank you, Hyuuga-sama." Naruto thanked formally, but Hiashi held his hand up to interrupt him.
"There is no need to use formalities on us. You are our guest, after all." Hiashi reassured him. "Anyway, I have some news I want to voice to you all. Starting today, Naruto-kun here is going to be living here for a while, at least until he can take care of himself." Seeing the confusion in Naruto's eyes, Hiashi continued.
"I have signed all the adoption papers for Naruto, and he is to be taken into our custody until further notice. So, Naruto-kun, how would you feel about becoming a Hyuuga? You can still keep your original last name, if you so choose. Or, you can switch from Uzumaki Naruto to Hyuuga Naruto."
"Hmm…Hyuuga Naruto sounds cool." Naruto said, after thinking about it for a while. "…But I don't think changing my last name will do any good. I don't think I'm worthy enough to become a Hyuuga, so I think I'll stick with Uzumaki for now."
"Very well." Hiashi agreed to his opinion. "There is still more. Now Hinata-chan, I have spoken to your school and have arranged Naruto-kun to attend as well." Hinata and Naruto were surprised, but before either of them could speak, Hiashi went on. "I am well aware that Naruto-kun is blind, but I know for sure that your school has a 'disability class.' So, after speaking with the headmaster about it, Naruto-kun is officially enrolled there today." Hiashi concluded and handed Naruto a bag of school books and supplies.
"Hyuuga-san, what is a disability class?" Naruto asked.
"It is a class with kids that have similar problems like you. I think there are a few blind students as well, and who knows, you might make more friends with them."
"There are people like me?"
"Of course there is. But there is more and you'll just have to cope with the rest."
"So, if I go to this class, I'm to be separated from Hinata-chan?"
"I know your relationship with Hinata-chan is very strong and as such you wouldn't want to be separated from each other, but decisions have to be made. Besides, you two will be seeing each other in passing time and going home together, so it's not like you'll never see each other again."
"I see."
"Well, have a good day at school, Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan." Hiashi excused himself for work while Neji took Hinata and Naruto with him to drop them off at school.
… … …
At the school-
"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
"What's school like?" Naruto asked.
"Well, school is a place for learning new things and meeting new people and making friends." Hinata explained.
"Oh, like how I was with Kurenai-san? She taught me new things everyday and because of her I met you."
Hinata blushed when he said that, but thankfully, Naruto didn't notice the rise in temperature.
"Um, Naruto-kun? You know we're going to be in separate classes, don't you?"
"Yeah." Naruto sighed, a little disappointed.
"Well, I just want you to be careful when I'm not around. I don't want to see you get hurt." Hinata said, worry evident in her soft voice.
"Don't worry, Hinata-chan! I'll be fine!"
"Well, just to let you know...there are mean kids there. And, I want you to stay away from them." Hinata said seriously.
"Okay!" Naruto agreed immediately.
… … …
Naruto stood outside his classroom, getting ready to be called in. Then, suddenly the teacher opened the door and called him in to introduce himself to the class.
"Okay, class! Today, a new student is going to be joining us! Please beware that he is blind." The teacher said, indicating to Naruto to start.
"Um, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, and it is a pleasure to meet you all." Naruto bowed respectfully. After a few cheers, Naruto found his way to his seat and sat in it.
Class droned on and Naruto found himself interested in it immediately. Before long, he was the one giving answers and teaching the class. Since he had previous experience in these subjects, he could teach his peers a lot better than his teacher could, seeing as how the gap in their ages made them uncomfortable.
He may have been eager to give her the best answers, but during break, he found he did not make a single friend at all. It was possible that no one even talked to him, not even the other blind students. Maybe he could wait till lunchtime and get together with Hinata then.
Lunch came faster than he expected, and he got his lunch out. He started eating when he noticed someone approaching him. This person didn't turn away or go past him, but instead said person touched his arm and he turned to face the student, or tried to.
"Yes?"
"Hey! You're the new kid, ain't ya?" the voice of the student said gruffly. By the sound of it, Naruto guessed it was a boy. The boy had spiky brown hair, (equivalent to Naruto's blonde hair) black slits for eyes, and long, sharp canines, which made him intimidating, but Naruto couldn't see any of it. Strangely, the boy smelled like a dog, but Naruto didn't want to offend him.
"I am. Who are you?"
"Word on the street is you're blind. Is that true?"
"Does it matter if it's true or not?" Naruto asked indifferently while glaring icily at Kiba, which Kiba didn't take notice of, so he continued. "And since when have you heard of me? I haven't been in this school for more than five hours and already rumors about me are spreading."
"No, I guess it doesn't matter. But, I know about you from a friend of mine."
"I asked you who you are, but if you're not going to tell me who you are, then don't bother talking to me."
"Heh, well the, name's Inuzuka Kiba!"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I had heard from Hinata-chan that you're her other friend." Naruto was surprised, but he quickly got over it and talked casually to Kiba.
"Hinata-chan? Do you know her?"
"Yes, she's my best friend and housemate."
"You live with the Hyuugas? That's cool!" Kiba said, bewilderment evident in his animal-like eyes.
"How's that cool?"
"Dude, the Hyuugas are super rich and if you befriend one, you get to share their money. They're pretty generous with it too."
"Are you Hinata-chan's friend only for her money? I, myself don't care for money."
"Not only that, but she is pretty cute. Don't tell her I said that! So, you wanna be friends?"
"Yes, but only if you be nice to Hinata-chan."
"I will!"
"Oh, Kiba-kun!" Hinata called out as she joined Naruto with another boy next to her.
"Hey, Hinata-chan! How's your winter break?" Kiba waved at her in passing.
"Great! How about yours, Kiba-kun?"
"Great! I just taught Akamaru a new trick!"
"Who's Akamaru?" Naruto asked.
"Oh, he's only the greatest dog in the world! He's not only my pet, but he's also my best friend. Too bad this stupid school doesn't allow pets! What's wrong with Akamaru? He's pretty nice if I tell him to!" Kiba ranted.
"Anyway, I assume you know Kiba-kun now, Naruto-kun?" Hinata interrupted Kiba's rant to ask Naruto.
"Oh yeah, we just became friends!" Kiba exclaimed, ending his rant about why dogs should be allowed in school.
"Great! Oh, I want to introduce another friend of mine! Haku-kun, it's okay!" Hinata introduced the other boy, who was strangely hiding behind Hinata, despite him being the tallest, to Naruto. Haku had long black hair and a nice round face, complete with big doe-brown eyes. Overall, he looked like a girl, but if he didn't have the boy's uniform on, which consisted of a collared white shirt with a blue blazer and blue slacks, he would be mistaken for one. If Naruto couldn't see, he couldn't comment, right?
"I'm Yuki Haku! Nice to meet you, Naruto-san!" Haku introduced himself, which Naruto introduced as well.
"Hinata-chan, you have nice friends!" Naruto commented sadly after a while.
"What are you talking about, Naruto-kun? They're your friends too!" Hinata insisted.
"Really?"
"Of course we are! If you want friends, we'll gladly be your friends too!" Kiba exclaimed with a thumbs up.
"If you need anything, then Kiba-kun and I will help you as well. Don't worry, Hinata-chan told me everything! So no need to worry!" Haku added.
"Worry about what, Haku-kun?" Kiba asked.
"I'll tell you later, Kiba-kun." Haku whispered to him.
"Well, classes are going to start soon, so I'll see you after school, Naruto-kun!" Hinata bid Naruto ado and went back to her class with Kiba and Haku.
"They're pretty nice, those two." Naruto said to himself as the class filed in for their afternoon courses.
… … …
Next chapter: Finding Naruto!
