I don't own Naruto

Chapter 3

Six months into the academic year, the Uchiha Massacre took place. The village hidden in the leaf was thrown into a major disarray, as people mourned close comrades who had died at the hands of Uchiha Itachi. There was no Uchiha left to mourn the tragedy however, save for the young Sasuke, the only survivor of the event.

Iruka had been working non-stop. The academy had been forced to take a break because of losing a few employees including an old department head. Iruka had been worried about the effect that losing the normalcy of academy would have on the moral of his students. A black cloud of despair had set in on the village and Iruka was worried about how it would affect his students.

Primarily among his concerns was the young Sasuke Uchiha, a boy who had lost all his clan over one night. Iruka couldn't imagine the burden on the boy, especially given that the deed had been done by his brother. As his teacher, and quite possibly the only parental figure left in the boy's life Iruka felt obligated to help him, but this was impossible given the current closure of the academy. Which is why Iruka had been pushing for resuming academy classes as soon as possible.

This had lead to him taking on tasks that were far above his capabilities and trying his hardest to attempt them. Iruka hadn't pushed himself like this since his Chunin Exams. But he knew this was a time where the village needed every shinobi working beyond their capabilities.

As Iruka wrapped up his work in his humble apartment, some distance away in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also putting out fires, both literal and metaphorical. The sudden loss of the villages entire police force was extremely damaging as crime had shot up to record levels. Sarutobi had been forced to divert the entire efforts of the Konoha ANBU into maintaining law and order, and while the elite shinobi were up to the task they were not as experienced as the Uchiha had been. Not to mention they were far fewer in number.

The ANBU being busy internally also meant the village was bringing in far less revenue from missions. The economy was already failing due to the loss of some Uchiha traders and vendors. He was forced to reduce the wages for his shinobi, and the only reason Kohona was surviving the tradgey was the will of fire still alive in many of them. Not one shinobi in active service had complained about the wage cuts. A few had looked grumpy, but who could blame them?

Hiruzen questioned his capacity to make decisions yet again. How had this massacre taken place under his leadership. He knew the answer. It had been Danzo, he had allowed the man to become too strong, the corruption of the man had been seeping into the very roots of Konoha. The Uchiha had been plotting against the village, yes, but massacring them was no solution at all. Still, he thought cynically, it was better than a civil war.

Over the years Hiruzen had been increasingly convinced that this job came at the cost of a person's humanity. He had sent so many shinobi to die, knowing that the risk of loosing their lives was worth the small chance of the missions success. He had done so heavy-heartedly and in compulsion, and told himself that it made a difference, but did it really? Was he really any different from a heart-less person? He had kept a god-father away from his god-son, allowed the son of the Fourth to be raised like an unwanted orphan. Hiruzen knew what he was doing. It would have drawn too much attention to Naruto if he had been partial to him.

But that was a lie too. Everyone knew Naruto was the Kyuubi Jinchūriki. The real reason had been simple. With the loss of Minato it would have been impossible to keep running the village without Jiraiya. If he had allowed Naruto and Jiraiya to get close, it would have distracted the man, and Naruto would have had someone to be loyal to instead of the village.

No. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. If Naruto was to be condemned to a youth of loneliness for the sake of the many that was fine. It was. It was.

As he signed yet another order he tried to ignore the drops of wetness that had fallen on the paper.

-Page Break-

Hinata walked through the hallway leading to the clan head's room. Her father Hiashi awaited her for assessing her improvements in training. Normally this would have made her nervous. Today however her mind was wandering to Naruto's comments during their reading yesterday.

-Page Break-

The two had been hanging out as per usual under their favorite tree in the park. Neither was particularly affected by the Uchiha massacre, not because of a lack of empathy, but simply a lack of understanding. One not uncharacteristic of someone at their young age. Hinata as a Hyuuga had never known any Uchiha outside of Sasuke, and Naruto had only ever been disregarded by the police force. Nonetheless the topic did comeup in conversation.

"Do you think Sasuke-san will be okay?" Hinata asked Naruto. After spending the past six months with the boy, her anxiety interacting with him had lessened.

"I don't know Hinata. He doesn't really talk too much with the rest of the guys. I thought he was stuck up at first."

Naruto had slowly made other friends at the academy. The enthusiastic Kiba had begun hounding him once Naruto started beating him in spars. He had bonded with Chouji over the taste of ramen, Naruto delighted to have met someone who appreciated the subtle differences in the many flavours of ramen. Chouji was a lover of all foods though and disagreed with Naruto over the supremeness of ramen but atleast that made for interesting conversation. Shikamaru was a laid-back person who Naruto found to be quite pleasant company.

Sasuke however didn't seem to mix in with anyone. He was polite enough, and certainly strong, consistently winning most spars against his classmates. Only a lucky hit or unconventional thinking could get the better of Sasuke in a fight. Naruto used to enjoy sparring against the boy as despite loosing often he could occasionally trick him with new moves or feints. The same trick never worked on the boy twice though, and Naruto found himself being forced to innovate.

Naruto used to feel a pang of jealousy at the cooing of girls whenever he was beaten by the boy. Most of his female classmates made no secret of who was their favorite. On the bright side anyone who faced Sasuke got the same treatment from the crowd. While there was the occasional negative look or whisper, most of the class seemed to have passively accepted Naruto's presence.

Probably largely in part due to the advice of the girl sitting across him. Naruto glanced at Hinata as she went through the notes from the day's class. The girl had taught him what an inside tone was, and basic courtesies. She didn't hesitate to reprimand him now. And despite feeling a bit miffed at having his mistakes pointed out, he felt quite indebted to her. He had never had people to tell him right from wrong, and it wasn't something he took for granted.

"Hey Hinata-chan?"

"Yes?"

"You know you're probably my best friend."

The girl blushed profusely. The sudden statement caught her off guard. She had grown, over time, accustomed to the rather impulsive personality of Naruto but even still such a open declaration made her feel uncomfortably warm.

"No, not probably. You definitely are my best friend."

"T-thanks Naruto-kun..."

"Am I yours?"

Hinata nearly squealed in embarrassment. It wasn't in her nature to be so straightforward and her shyness was rearing it's ugly head again. Hesitantly she looked up at Naruto, only to meet his eyes.

His eyes were an azure blue, expressive and energetic. But in there she saw that mark of insecurity she had come to recognize, driven by his loneliness. As if he was afraid she'd say no. Driven by an urge to reassure him, she leaned over to touch his arm, stroking it as she said with passion, "Of course Naruto-kun."

He flashed her his most genuine smile, the one only she got to see, or so she hoped. The smile was a blinding expression of pure unadulterated joy, the satisfaction of someone who had everything they ever wanted. Hinata who had felt insufficient for as long as she remembered lost herself in it.

"Then it's a promise. We'll be together forever."

She nearly fainted.

-Page Break-

Making her way to her father's room she found herself blushing with residual emotion from the moment she was recalling. She knew Naruto had meant it in the most innocent way possible, but it did still stir her heart hearing those words come from her crush.

Because of the time they spent together, she knew his feelings weren't romantic. He didn't seem to understand romance, talking to girls as he would to guys. If anything he had shown a distaste for the girls who booed him.

Then again she didn't know too much about romance either. They were only 9, and all she knew came from idle gossip she had overheard from Ino, a self-styled love guru. Hinata didn't really understand much of what Ino said and she didn't want to. The whole thing scared her a bit. But it didn't stop her heart from thumping a mile a minute whenever Naruto said something narrowly suggestive.

The thoughts played on her mind even as she opened the door to her father's training room, curtseyed and performed her stretches. Her father Hiashi was standing there, cutting a figure as cold as stone, sucking the warmth out of the room. But today even her father didn't make her feel quite so cold.

"Hinata, your instructors have told me your progress has been adequate recently. We'll test this today."

"Yes Father."

"Once you're done doing your stretches join me in the ring."

And so she did. Her body felt nimble from the stretches, and for once the sense of impending failure didn't touch her mind.

They began sparring. Her father went on the offensive immediately, his speed immediately put Hinata on the back foot. He was moving at a speed her eyes could barely follow, but she managed to parry, dodge or deflect most of his strikes. She knew her father was going very easy on her, but even so it was an exhausting task just keeping up with him. After a few minutes of this her father stopped and allowed Hinata to catch her breath. Her body was sweating hard, her training outfit wet with perspiration. Her father's hits weren't hard, and so she felt no pain, but in Juu-ken a strike landing was already a big failure.

Surprisingly her father didn't reprimand her immediately. Silence was all that she got. That usually meant that he was at least somewhat satisfied with her defense.

"Now we shall see your aggression. Do not hesitate to use chakra Hinata, I want to see how you wield it in battle."

She simply nodded, the break was over.

As she engaged her father, aggressively this time, she saw openings that he intentionally left for her. The left arm. Her strike landed. The right knee. Her strike landed. The heart… Even as she saw the opening she faltered, her form confused by her indecision. She knew she couldn't hurt him, but striking the heart…

And in that moment of indecision Hiashi swept her off the ground with a overly telegraphed kick. Hinata fell on the mat sideways, disoriented.

"Why didn't you dodge that Hinata?"

She didn't know what to say. The kick had been telegraphed so obviously that even a civilian could have dodged it. Her form had been off, her concentration had been split.

"Hinata, once again your inability to land a critical blow is a disappointment."

Her eyes immediately found the mat. She knew it. She still hesitated. She was weak. Someone who didn't deserve to be a shinobi.

"What part of this do you not understand daughter? Mercy is a weakness. Especially in the heat of battle! A weakness your enemies will not hesitate to exploit."

Hinata felt herself shrink physically despite herself.

"Stand straight! Hinata look at me while I speak."

She slowly raised her gaze. Her fathers expressionless face was showing signs of anger, and his eyes were disappointed.

"You seem to misunderstand what's expected of you Hinata. As clan head you are to be an exceptional shinobi. A shinobi doesn't hesitate. You need to strike the heart before your enemy strikes yours."

Her fathers tone was surprisingly loud. She had never quite seen him so aggravated before, even when her taijutsu had been subpar.

"This is worse than not being able to do a proper form! I want you to think about your mistakes Hinata. Do not make such a pitiful display next-time."

"Y-yes f-father."

-Page Break-

Hiashi watched as his eldest daughter bowed her head and left the room. She had stuttered her last response. Hiashi cursed internally. He had thought that she had gotten over that infernal habit.

As his anger slowly abated he realized that it had been brought on by his berating of her. It did nothing to help with his frustration however as his concern for his eldest daughter was only mounting.

He wished, for a hundredth time, that her mother had still been with them. Not just because his heart ached for his lost love, but also because he couldn't break through to Hinata at all. Hitomi had always been the one who was good with their children. Hiashi excelled at fighting adversaries, both literally and politically. But his impatient nature and hot-temperedness left him quite inept at interpersonal relationships.

The best he could offer his daughters was his controlled emotions. His oldest daughter was so much like his mother, but they diverged in one key aspect. Where he had needed Hitomi, the kind-hearted woman who knew how to assuage his woes, his daughter Hinata needed him.

And unlike Hitomi, who was a seamstress, a profession suited to her kindly demeanor, his daughter wouldn't have the luxury of such choice. She was to be his successor and as such would be expected to be a shinobi of high caliber. With how hesitant she was to deliver a critical strike, Hiashi would be afraid to send her on a C-class mission.

He couldn't help but imagine a situation where his daughter's tendency to be merciful got her killed. And it worried him enough to give him sleepless nights.

Still, there was time until she graduated from academy. There was still time to instill a killer instinct in her. She did seem to be growing more confident recently. Her association with the Kyuubi Jinchūriki seemed to be helping her.

When his spies had told him of their friendship, Hiashi had been a bit confused with how to handle the situation. On the one hand, being close to Naruto would put her in harms way. On the other a powerful ally in him could save her life as a shinobi later. He had decided on allowing the friendship to develop, from all accounts the boy had taken after his parents, and there was no sign of any corruption by the Kyuubi.

Still somewhat troubled he resumed his responsibilities as clan-head. Hopefully things would resolve themselves with time.

Chapter 3 End.