Naruto was walking to the Memorial Park around lunch time as his father had spoken to him about (for Minato knew Kakashi would be late). He stopped to look at the giggling, waving girls who were being carted away by their parents the next moment. When he saw one that didn't look too sure what to think of him walk out of a convenience-store. He coyly walked up to the girl and she turned when he cleared his throat.
"Uh, hey… um, didn't I see you at the academy?"
The nervous girl blushed and said nothing as she let her Popsicle melt in her hands. "I'm the Hokage's kid if you hadn't noticed."
"S-Sorry… I w-was, um, j-just on the way to my examination."
"Oh, no biggy, we'll walk there together." said Naruto, and she turned scarlet.
"D-Don't you have to get to your e-exam?"
"I'm actually getting there early."
The girl blushed and said nothing until moments later. "L-Let's walk together then."
"Show me the way!" said Naruto happily.
They started walking at once.
It was then when Naruto had just come out of his element when things got a little more casual… "S-So, um… who's your sensei?"
"Yuhi Kurenai…" said the girl shyly as she let the Popsicle melt in her hands, then she turned and asked, "U-Um… w-want a half?"
"S-Sure… I love these things. My mama used to get me them all the time when I was good." The girl laughed feebly. Naruto looked embarrassed at what he said to her and looked down.
"Oh! N-No… it's just, my mom used to buy me them when I was good… when she was alive, you know." said the girl, breaking the Popsicle and handing him half. She looked to him, smiling, but thought it was a bit strange that he lived in the wilderness for a 1 years. She guessed he was a bit rugged, but, he was so sweet...
"I lost my mom, too. It was sad, really…" said Naruto, taking a small, hard bite. Hinata could tell he was kind of angry at something other than her.
"Emmm… w-well, I-I'm s-sorry… I wouldn't have guessed." said the girl, biting her pop reluctantly.
"Um, I just have a question; do you look up to your sensei at all yet? My sensei's a hack." said Naruto, taking another bite.
"Emhm… Y-Yes. She's a very strong genjutsu user. She's a-also a v-very good woman. I like her." she said.
"Cool." he said simply.
The girl giggled, "You know, when I first laid eyes on you, I saw the pain of a boy who didn't have much, and that didn't make sense at first because I knew you were the Hokage's son. But now I know that was wrong… you lost a lot, losing your mom. My dad doesn't even care about me. If I ever see you again tell you the full story, okay?" she said surprisingly confident for her disposition. It seemed like she just realized that too, and she immediately shied away.
"My dad didn't even care about me for a while. You either just gotta be so pathetic you're pitied, which I know won't work for you, or you have to show him what you're made of. Show strong potential and strong determination. I wouldn't be as strong as I am today without hard work and dedication." said Naruto, smiling widely at scouring for a trashcan; he found one and the girl followed. They put their Popsicle sticks in the trash, turned to face each other, and Naruto said, "Are my lips blue? I hate it when they get like that."
"N-No… you're okay!"
"Thanks, yours aren't either."
This boy isn't trying to be cool, but he is… I… I don't really care when I'm around him… I even spoke all those words without stuttering… and what's this feeling I'm getting that something's just not right? the girl thought.
Eventually, she realized she was staring, looked down, and twiddled her fingers. Naruto could read her face of confusion and said, "Hey, no problem, whatever you're upset about!"
She looked up and smiled. "Thank you…" she said tenderly, "Oh and my name's Hinata… Hyuuga Hinata…"
"It's Namikaze Naruto, at your service." he said with a respectful bow.
"Um…" said Hinata.
"Yeah?" he replied
"I . . . I uh . . . Nothing . . ."
"Can you walk the rest of the way?" said Naruto, beaming.
Hinata twiddled her fingers again, but Naruto waited for a reply even still, "Yes…" she said finally. Naruto took off with the back of his hand raised, "Oi! See you around, Hinata."
Hinata didn't even notice that they had taken off to Memorial Park, where she saw Sakura, Sasuke, and a man she didn't know waiting for him with scowls.
XXX
"Hi guys."
"Who was that girl you were with?" said Sakura.
"Why?" said Naruto.
Sakura walked up to him in rage and threw her fist at him, but missed as he dodged.
"Grr…!" said Sakura as Sasuke and Kakashi grabbed her arms.
"Now's not the time for that." said Kakashi, "I'm sure your father told you I'd be fashionably late as usual, no? I didn't have to wait that long, of course, but you kept these two wondering if you'd ever show up."
Sakura stopped struggling and whispered to herself, "Make a play on two girls in a 24 hour period, why don't you. Insolent boy!"
"I wasn't making a play." said Naruto sincerely and innocently with a blink.
Sakura cracked an insane, purple angry-anime face. She wanted to punch him so bad but she knew Sasuke and Kakashi wouldn't let her do it, so she reduced to a deafening groan.
