No one really expected them to be friends.
She wasn't really popular to begin with, even with her family being pretty well off. She was considered to be too quiet, too timid, and, honestly, a little strange.
Many people have tried to get close to her in the past, but were always thrown off by her awkwardness. Even the few guys who wanted to date her quickly grew bored with her "blush and stammer" personality, and went onto pursue the more popular girls. By the time she reached her senior year, nearly everyone had given up trying to form a close connection with her, and had just stuck to ignoring her existence instead.
Granted, this isn't to say she doesn't have a few genuine close friends, but throughout Konoha High is a consensus: almost no one knows anything about Hinata Hyuga.
He is the person almost no one in Konoha wants to know. He moved into Konoha during the past summer from a far away city by the ocean and brought a bloody reputation with him. One that should have landed him in jail, honestly, with all the crimes he supposedly committed—and the people of Konoha have accused him of many.
"...Worse than that Uzumaki brat, I hear," many have said.
"Back at his old city, he beat up more than that kid from Suna. Even killed a guy or two, from what I heard."
"...And the worst part? Did it all with a smile."
"Scary!"
"Why would Tsunade-sensei let such a monster into our school?"
If he was anyone else, he probably would brood and write some bad, emo poetry about his situation. After all, with everything that's happened to him over the past six months, he should be depressed. And what with how the people in this new town and school look at him, he should be sad. He should let the loneliness of this new town get to him.
But Monkey D. Luffy is not just "anyone else."
"Is that all you've got?" He would often challenge those who whisper behind his back, his grin threatening to split his face. "Because if so, then I'm kinda disappointed!"
Many of them would blanch and run away. Some scream out shaky apologies and bow, the picture of humble and guilt (fear). Some just yell back more insults, as if to break him down.
Luffy would just laugh and keep on walking, not really giving a damn about anyone else, except those he'd left behind.
Which only brings us back to the original question that people will be too wary to ask: How did Konoha's shy heiress becomes friends with Konoha's newest outcast?
It's kind of a funny story, actually.
And it all begins with Naruto Uzumaki getting decked in the face and falling on his ass.
"—What the fuck?!" He grabs his swollen cheek, cringing. Then he lifts head with blazing blue eyes that quickly widen with fear. "Oh, shit," Naruto hisses before he's grabbed by his shirt collar and pinned to the row of lockers on the wall.
"Where is it?"
"U-uh, w-where's what?" Shit, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm so, so dead.
"Don't even try to fuck with me, Uzumaki." Luffy tightens his grip and applies an ominous pressure to Naruto's throat with his fist. Then he brings his face close, his eyes wide and more furious than any storm. "Where. Is. My. Hat?"
Naruto swallows, his stomach dropping. He doesn't usually scare easy, at least when it comes to a fight—even up against his sort-of friend Sasuke. Probably the only person to really scare him during a fight was Gaara, and that was back in middle school. Being a troublemaker himself, Naruto has gotten through quite a few scrapes in his day.
Luffy, however, is terrifying. While guys like Gaara and Neji could be dangerous, at least you can believe they're a little human. You can know what to expect from them in a fight. With Luffy, there are no limits, and there is no warning. He won't stop beating someone until they're all black and blue, and even then (if he's especially pissed) he'll give them one last kick to bring them further down—just out of spite.
Then, once his bloodlust and rage has been sated, he just goes back to being all grins, laughter, and sunshine.
And while Naruto personally thinks Luffy is a cool person overall, that whole thing still scares the shit out of him.
So, of course, because Naruto is an idiot even when he shouldn't be, he had to pull the bull by the horns—and all for a stupid prank.
"Just steal his hat for a little bit," Sasuke says. "It'll be funny," he says. Yeah, sure, I'd like to hear him say that in my shoes—JESUS.
Before he can recover from his head being bashed into the locker, Luffy is in his face again. "Where?"
"I don't know, man! Sasuke-teme hid it somewhere."
Luffy blinks, some of his rage dissipating. "...Uchiha?"
"Yeah! The whole prank was his idea," Naruto says, also glaring. "If anyone should have his ass kicked right now, it should be him!"
"...But you're still the one who took it, right?"
Fuck, he's got me there. Uh...
"W-well, yeah—"
"Then he will be next."
An image of a bruised and crying Sasuke flashes his mind, and Naruto nearly smirks. Well, at least something good will come out of this.
"C'mon, Luffy, buddy. Can't we just talk about this?" he still says, putting on an easygoing grin. "I mean, it's just a hat—"
Luffy growls and starts pulling his fist back.
Okay, wrong thing to say. Despite his terror, Naruto swallows and puts his own fists up to defend himself—
"—W-w-wait!"
His fist frozen in the air, Luffy turns to glare.
"What?"
Hinata cringes, but doesn't falter as she steps closer to them. Her hands are behind her back, holding something that neither boy can see. She takes one look at Naruto and frowns—this is the first time they've been so close to each other in almost a year—and then shifts her gaze to Luffy.
Naruto finds himself panicking a little. Wait, Hinata-chan—!
Despite being stared down by dark, enraged eyes, Hinata swallows and brings out the object behind her back.
Luffy grins wide and immediately releases Naruto.
"My hat!"
He almost snatches the gold straw hat from Hinata's hands and then holds it in his hands like it was the most precious object in the world. He tilts his head and quickly inspects it. There are some fresh stitches scattered around it, but overall, it looks unharmed. Feeling satisfied, Luffy places the straw hat on his head, and everything makes sense again.
"I-I found it this morning, after gym," Hinata explains, twiddling her index fingers. "I was going to give it back in Kurenai-sensei's class, but it was torn and bent in some places, so I went and fixed it. I mean, you were already upset yesterday when it went missing, but I thought you'd be even more upset at it getting damaged, because it seems really, really important to you and, u-u-um," she falters when she sees Luffy looking at her, his expression blank and unnerving, and then she bows. "S-s-sorry! I should have given it back sooner—"
"Hey."
Hinata freezes and looks up at him again. Luffy narrows his eyes, not in anger, but confusion.
"What's your name again?" He asks.
She blinks. "H-Hinata," she clears her throat. "Hinata Hyuga."
"Hinata," Luffy tries out her name slowly, and then he grins. "Cool!"
...Eh?
"You and me are friends now, okay!"
Her mouth drops open, her pale eyes as wide as plates. EH?!
"That's right," Luffy laughs and wraps an arm around Hinata's shoulders, oblivious to her blush. "We're friends now. And you can't say no!"
I...I...Wha?!
"Oh, right!" He looks back at Naruto, still grinning. "No hard feelings, right, Whiskers? I mean, I'm still gonna kick Uchiha's ass—but with you, it was nothing personal. Just don't ever touch my hat again (unless I say so), and we're cool. Okay?"
Naruto stares. "Uh...okay?"
"Awesome! C'mon, Hinata," Luffy says as he practically drags her down the hall, drawing many a stare. "There's this awesome Korean Barbecue place with the best meat, and I wanna get there before it gets crowded."
Though she allows herself to move with him, Hinata still manages to open her mouth and retort, "H-h-hang on a second, you can't just make someone be your friend!"
A beat.
"Shishishishi~ You're hilarious, Hinata!"
"...Th-that wasn't a joke, though."
"I know. But it was still hilarious."
"Uh..." Help?
Like many of the students of Konoha High, Naruto watches them go with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Then he shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair.
What the hell...?