Ever since we left that place, I haven't stopped thinking about the princess. She was so not what I thought she was. No, she was much better.

"Oi, Naruto, stop dreaming about the princess" Kiba said as he hit my head.

"Hey, was not!"

"Right, whatever you say" He answered back.

"Why you little…" I was just about to grab his collar when Shikamaru grabbed my shirt and pulled me back.

"Naruto just drop it, you can't hide it. Besided, nothing could ever happen between you two" I crossed my arms and pouted

"Hmpf… I know that already" I continued walking

"It's not like I like her like that after just one encounter anyway" as I walked I heard both of them let out a big sigh. After walking around town for about an hour or two, I finally got home to the dump I call my home. I was welcomed home by Blaze, who right away searched my clothes for an apple with his muzzle.

"Hey boy, want an apple?" He looked at me stupid, of course he wanted an apple. I took one out of my pockets and gave it to him. I smiled happily as I watched him eat something that I gave him. If it was Kiba or someone else who had tried to give him something, he would have hesitated, but not with me. As he finished eating, he pushed his head against my chest as a thank you.

"Heh Heh, you are welcome buddy" I kissed his muzzle and hugged him. I really have no idea what I would do without him. I told him all about the castle and my encounter with the princess.

"She was kind, and she sees everyone as equal. Oh how I hope I get that job so that you can meet her, and she can meet you." People would say I was weird for talking to my horse as if it was a human being. But when a human and his pet gets a strong bond, they understand each other better. At least that's what Kiba have told me.

"*knock knock* Uzumaki Naruto" I turned around in surprise

'Great, what did I do now?' It knocked on the door again.

"Hai, I'm coming" I yelled. I opened the door and saw at least three men, standing with their helmets under their arm. They all had long hair, tied back in a loose ponytail and they all had the same kind of eyes as the princess, except that these seemed empty, and filled with sorrow. The man who knocked on my door wore a white armor with the royal family's weapon crest on his chest, and a larger on the back of his dark blue cape.

"Uzumaki Naruto" I looked at him rather frightened

"H-Hai…"

"Mount up, you are coming with us"

"Geesh Hinata, relax a little will you?" I looked at Ino

"W-What do you mean? I am relaxed…" Truth be told, I was not relaxed at all. Neji-niisan has been
sent out to get Naruto-kun. I don't know why my heart is beating this fast, just the thought of him
makes my heart race and my cheeks blush.

"You act like you like this boy…" Sakura stated. I was surprised by her comment and blushed

"YOU DO?!" They all looked at me surprised, making me blush even more

"N-No wa! I-I've only met him once" They looked at me, not saying anything. I looked away from them

"S-Stop looking at me like that" They burst into laughter by my embarrassment

"Hm? What's this?" Tenten said as she looked out the window

"Tenten what's wrong?" Sakura asked her as she and Ino ran to the window where Tenten was sitting. They started to giggle, so I decided to walk over to them.

"W-What's going on?" I asked them. They turned around with an evil smile. I looked out the window. Unfortunately, the girls weren't prepared for what I would do and didn't catch me. I fainted.

It felt weird going through the gates when I just, few hours ago, went through a hidden entrance to get inside the castle. I was too busy not being seen earlier, that I didn't notice all the amazing buildings and gardens inside the castle walls. There were guards everywhere doing different things. Some was practicing martial arts in one of the gardens, and some was practicing their sword skills by sparring with each other. There were even some who sat and read books or was painting a picture.

"Wow…" Was the only thing that could get out of my mouth.

"Don't get used to it stableboy, you belong in the stables" the captain riding in front of me said

"I know that… and can you smile at all? You've been acting like a grumpy old man ever since you picked me up" He was clearly annoyed by my words. He let out a sigh before he said

"There is a reason why I was picked as the captain. And that reason wasn't because I was smiling or laughing, but because I was, and still am, the best at doing what I do" I suddenly burst out in laughter

"Oh Captain, You and I are gonna be great friends"

"Hmpf." We arrived at the royal stabled and it was huge. Each horse had had space that looked like three boxes, including Blaze. The royal stables had 5 horses in total that I have to take care of. Besides having a place to work, I was also given a little house to live in. It was a one roomed house, with no broken windows at all. It even had a little fireplace where I can cook if I wanted to. I also had my own bed with a pillow and several blankets.

"I belive you can figure out yourself where all the stuff you need is, right?" The captain asked me. I turned around and smiled at him

"Hai, captain"

"hmpf" He began to walk towards the castle doors.

"Good luck, stableboy"

"The name is Naruto, ya know" I yelled at him, still with a huge smile on my face. He didn't say anything, he just raised his arm in the air as he kept walking.

I can't belive the girls are making me do this

*Flashback*

"Hinata, Oi Hinata, wake up" Everythng was black and the voices was feint.

"mm…" I slowly began to open my eyes, only to see three silhouettes above me

"W-What happened?" The three girls slowly helped me up on my legs again

"Hinata are you okay? You fainted when you saw that blonde kid" Tenten said as she brushed some dirt off of my dress

"Eh?" I blushed when I suddenly remembered the sight of Naruto-kun. Suddenly Inos face came closer to mine

"Ne Hinata… Why are you blushing so much everytime we mention Naruto?" She asked me with an evil smile on her lips. I shook my head

"I-I'm not!" She poked my cheeks

"Oh yes you are, you are almost as red as a tomato right now!" The three of them began to laugh again. I looked in the mirrow and saw that Ino was right. I AM as red as a tomato.

"Ne Hinata, Why don't you go down and say hi to him?" Sakura asked me. I looked at her surprised

"Eh?! I-I can't do that?!"

"Oh yes you can" Tenten said as she practically pushed me out the door

"T-Tenten, wait I ca-" I didn't get to finish my sentence before the door was closed.

*End of flashback*

'What should I say to him? How should I say it?' I thought to myself as I was trying to make sure my hair at least looked somewhat good.

'Why am I even fixing my hair? He is just a normal boy, doing normal work' Without knowing it, I now stood few meters from the stables. I could see him walk back and forth with buckets in his hands

'Okay Hinata, you can do this, deep breath, no need to worry. He is just a normal human being' I did the last few adjustments to my hair and dress. I am sure the girls are having a blast watching me being like this right now. I was so close to just walk back to my room, but the image of Sakura, Ino and Tenten might do to me made me stay. I carefully walked over to the stable doors.

"Ano… N-Naruto-kun?" He turned his head

"Hm? Oh, Hinata-hime" He put down the buckets and bowed to me.

"What do I owe this honor?" I walked over to him

"I-I just wanted to say… welcome…" I blushed as our eyes met

"Oh… Thank you! Ya know…" I looked at him as he put his right hand behind his head and smiled

"I am really grateful that you picked me to be the new stableboy" He looked rather embarrassed, I wonder why?

"W-Well.. y-you were the best of all the people I talked with…" He smiled That smile

"Hai, I will certainly try to live up to those expectations" There was a moment of awkward silence before my eyes met a beautiful sight.

There was a moment of silence before she saw something. I followed her eyes and saw what, or who, she was looking at.

"Ahh… I see that you have spotted Blaze!" She looked at me

"I-Is that your horse?!"
Yup! Wanna say hi to him?"

"C-Can I?" I laughed at he question

"Of course you can! He won't bite" We walked over to Blaze, and boy was he happy to see us.

"There there boy, easy now" I tried to calm him down

"Blaze, this is Hinata-hime… The person who got us here" I could see that she was a little insecure, when she tried to move her hand to his muzzle to pet him.

"Hm? What's wrong Hime?"

"Huh? Oh… n-nothing… I-I better go" She began to walk back to the castle with fast steps, but stopped at the door and looked back at us

"… see you later… Naruto-kun…" I rose my hand

"Bye… Hime…" I was a little confused, but kept watching her as she smiled and continued walking away.