Greetings
Sorry for the late update, I was busy with exams, I will hopefully find the time to write more in the following days.
I would like to thank panjangya, YunanObserves, xXCheapCigaretteXx, PandaSDCA , Yahiko 8D for their review on chapter five, those really give me the motivation to get on and write some more
After viewing the result of the poll (even with so few numbers) , I decided to follow up on my idea and include a female Sasuke in my story, I decided to bestow on her the name of Shion, I thought it sounded cool as it means "One who does not forget" which fits her theme, I've also made a last minute gender-swap of another character, call it what you want, I got inspired to make a change, and i loved the interesting interactions and consequances that would entail, so i did it, althought it won't affect the main character as much as the gender-swap of Sasuke
With that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
NOTE : this is a reupload, some people are saying that all the text is in bold, this is very frustrating as i don't see any problem on my sides of things, i will just reupload and hope the problem is fixed, please inform me if the problem persists, thank you very much
I don't own Naruto
Chapter six: Dreams
"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
There are two kinds of pains for the heart, the pain of not having anyone to love, and the pain of having a loved one disappear
Naruto thought that the worst part of his life, when he was still stuck alone in the orphanage, was well behind him, that he would never have to feel the same kind of suffering again.
And yet here he was, at the gates of his village, staring at the disappearing figure of the person that made him experience love for the first time, they had promised each other not to cry, and he stood strong as he hugged her for the last time, not knowing when will they ever see each other again, if ever; So, what was this warm liquid coming out of his eyes?
For most people, failing their academic year because they could not perform a jutsu would ruin their mood for a long time.
But for Naruto, this was one of the best year of his life, thanks to the surge of inspiration he had after the discussion with Anko and Kurenaï he had made incredible breakthrough on his fuinjutsu studies, he now felt confident in saying he was of intermediate level in the field
However it was not his advancements in the art that made this year special, it was the blond-haired girl, now turned kunoichi that brightened his life, after the fateful day they had their conversation on top of the mountain, they began hanging out nearly every time they could, even if it meant he had less opportunities to train his body and his chakra control ,he still loved it more than any other activity he did.
Their attraction for one another very rapidly turned into blossoming love as the time went by, but still, both parties agreed to not have anything serious between them as they knew it would then become a time bomb, but no amount of precaution could save them from the pain of saying goodbye.
Wiping away his tears, Naruto turned to the village as he began walking to nowhere in particular "But life keeps on" he mutters
-Scene Break-
"You better make this worth my time" grunted Anko, but her small smile betrayed her as she was sitting beside Naruto in his classroom
"Did I ever disappoint you?" he cheerfully asked, his excitement apparent in his posture
"Nah, but I'll probably have to pay a drink for the guy I asked to cover for me" she reluctantly answered
"shh just shut up and enjoy the spectacle " he gleefully tried to silence her as people started entering the classroom
It was a few weeks into his last year in the academy, and unlike all the classmates he had all the previous years, he had found a group of students he could talk to and befriend, maybe it was because they were members of prominent clans? Naruto didn't care, he couldn't help himself but get close to most of them very quickly, sure there were some that he liked more than others, but they were all special and interesting in their own way; He was also very happy to see the young Hyûga girl (who he now knows is named Hinata) he met at the park, although for some reasons, she seemed way happier than he was, as she tried talk to him whenever she had the opportunity to do it, he was impressed by the way she seemed more confident than when they had first met, she sure had grown in three years, and not only in personality as her long dark hair now framed a body that matured faster than her peers.
"Anko-senpai, may I ask what you are doing in my humble classroom?" inquired a curious teacher
"don't mind me, Iruka, I won't stay for long" she casually answered
"Anyway…does anybody know why your classmates are late today?" added the brown haired chunin
"Maybe they were lost in the road of life, sensei, I'm sure they will come…eventually" came the answer from a very cheerful Naruto
Suddenly a scream could be heard from the corridor and with it, the sound of a very angry group of people arriving "NARUTOOOOOOOOO"
As they opened the door, the whole class was left gape-mouthed at the sight they were presented with
The Nara hair could only be described as aloof, he literally had his head in the clouds most of the time, and after trying to imitate him for fun, Naruto had to admit he enjoyed the calming view of the clouds slowly drifting in the blue sky, it gave him a sense or peace he only rarely got the occasion to enjoy, but one thing he could not emulate was the counterproductive amount of laziness the young boy displayed on a daily basis; And yet, today, Shikamaru Nara had eyes wide open and hands shaking from excitement, he was on the verge of jumping in place as he could not stop calling the blonde some very well-thought insults as the former was trying to conceal a toothy grin
Beside him stood someone that Naruto found to be very kind and calm, someone you could stay besides in silence for long periods of time without it becoming awkward (maybe that is how he got to befriend the Nara hair), that is, if you don't mind the constant sound of chips crunching, the boy had the face of Choji Akimichi, yet he had a lean and muscular body not too different from that of a model, but as usual, the only thing he was focused on was his food, although it looked a bit different from the usual stuff he ate
Attracting an equal amount of attention from the class girls as his predecessor, it was a boy with a black leather jacket with spikes on it's shoulders and pitch black aviator sunglasses that went well with his straight long brown hair…most people didn't recognize him, but a few knew it was Shino Aburame, and the boy was a total mystery to the Uzumaki, he only talked when absolutely necessary and never showed any physical feature as his whole body was mysteriously hidden under layers of clothing, on normal days, that is.
Struggling behind him was a very frustrated Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto had to admit he liked the boy, he had the same 'wild' than him, he always seemed to find a way to lit up Naruto's competitive spirit whenever they did something together, but the usually confident looking Inuzuka was now struggling to get a very horny adult dog that was pounding him off of his back.
After that came the infamous duo, Saku Haruno was had ear and nose accessories that made him look like a pig, the looks complimented by a small tail coming from his lower back, if Naruto ever wanted to get advice on relationships he would directly go to the red haired boy, as he doubted there was a girl in his class he hadn't gone out with, that is except the person he seemed to long for the most, a certain Uchiha, but the playboy seemed confident enough in his charms that he never stopped trying his luck with her
Across him stood Ino Yamanaka, who had plaster on her forehead making it look much bigger, if she wasn't fighting with her ex, the girl with long silky blond hair could be seen having a very haughty and rich girl attitude that Naruto could not hide his distaste toward, the majority of people were amazed that they still used the same insult against each other while ironically embodying that same thing.
Last but not least of the group was Shion Uchiha; She had long dark hair that had a taint of blue, they were attached in a ponytail while still leaving a patch blocking parts of her forehead, she was wearing a simple blue shirt under a black jacket and pants of the same colour, while the girl was considered a beauty on normal days, she now was absolutely stunning as she was wearing some kind of emo make up, with bright red lipstick and purple marks around her eyes that stood out on a paler than usual oval face, out of all the persons he had pranked that day, Shion was the only person Naruto hoped wouldn't mind the jokes as he genuinely wanted to cheer up the onyx eyes that always displayed a sea of hatred, one that only a few could notice was hiding a hint of sadness, feelings Naruto could discern, but not understand.
They all had a note on their back noting their most notable 'Sin' as Naruto would say, they were, in order:
Sloth, Gluttony, Melancholy, Pride, Lust, Avarice, and finally Wrath
Without exception, everyone in the room stood silent, shocked, all but a very infamous duo in the back laughing like their life depended on it
"You fucking madman, I can't believe you did that, Oh my god, I'm going to die " managed to say Anko while short of breath from laughing, she nearly fell from her seat as she was struggling to keep herself sitting straight
"NARUTO!" scram Shikamaru as the whole group started approaching him
"Care to explain yourself, dobe?" warned the Uchiha in a low tone
"It hurts me to see that you all suspect me so much, does our friendship mean nothing to you?" he whined with fake tears in his eyes
"Bullshit, you're the only person in our group not to be affected" barked Kiba
"Oh really?" he asked while pointing out to his bright horrendous orange jumpsuit as he turned around for them to see a note plastered on his back reading 'Vanity'
"Then who fucking dared to stick those things onto my beautiful face " demanded a fuming Saku
Anko was having the laugh of her life as her blond friend played the group against each other while even a toddler could understand that Naruto was the culprit
"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND TAKE YOUR SEAT?" scram the annoyed Iruka as he had lost enough time on his course as it was
-Scene Break-
"I want to go out with you!"
Hinata changed a lot in the past two years, especially after she met with a certain blond man, a man who she had started developing a crush on the moment they met, but it was still a surprise for her to sound so confident
"you've grown bold" came the voice of an amused Naruto as he added " and why exactly would you want a date with me?"
"Ano…I never got the chance to thank you for what you did a few years ago" she argued still somewhat shyly
"hmm, that sounds fair, okay!" he accepted with a smile
"Really ?! you're accepting ?!" she exclaimed clearly happy from his answer
"How exactly could I refuse such an offer coming from someone as cute as you?" he teased as he enjoyed seeing the hint of red coming to the Hyûga's face before adding "Do you have anything particular in mind little kitten?"
The surname he gave her once again didn't fail to make her feel butterflies in her stomach as she struggled to answer him "N-no I didn't think of anything…I didn't think I'd get this far to be honest…maybe a restaurant?"
"Hinata, we will do something you want to do, not something you think would be appropriate " he firmly stated
"something I want to do…?" she pondered for a moment before she gathered her strength as she met his gaze confidently declaring "I want to go outside the village "
That confident display was soon to be replaced by her usual shyness thought, but it was still a very good showing
"…But the clan would never accept that" she admitted in defeat, lowering her head as her idea seemed more and more unrealistic
She felt a finger flickering her on the head "Itai…" before she looked up to a bright smile plastered on the boy, she came to have a crush on
"Don't give up so easily on the things you want, little kitten" he declared before adding with a grin "I think I have a plan"
-Scene Break-
It was early in the morning, and Hinata had just left her compound to go to school, once she was far enough, she made sure that nobody was watching her before she held her fingers in a sign
"Bunshin no jutsu" instantly, a perfect copy of herself was created.
"Okay, now I just have to stick this piece of paper on the clone" she thought before she did exactly that, yet nothing happened, finding it weird that Naruto told her to do something useless, unless…she activated her byakugan; Suffice to say, she wasn't expecting what she saw, her clone had a chakra system! "so that was his idea! now the clone is undistinguishable from me" she thought with excitement
-Scene Break-
Hinata was standing on a branch of a tree, at the place they had agree they would meet in to begin their 'date'
"I take it that my little trick worked?" came a voice from behind her
"Yes, it was as if that clone had chakra of its own, how did you manage to do this?" inquired Hinata
"There is so much that can be done with seals, much more than what people think" he replied in a mysterious manner before adding "but we're not here to discuss seals are we? I've wanted to show you a place, but it's a bit far if we were to walk there normally" he stated
"it's okey Naruto-san, I'm already very happy I can see the outside world thanks to you" she declared
"you might be satisfied, but I'm not" he retorted with a grin before adding "Now I know it might sound bizarre, but I want you to get on my back, I can take us there pretty quickly if I'm running as fast as I can"
"O-on your b-back?" she was taken aback by the proposition
"Yes, I promise it will be worth it, trust me, Hinata" he pleaded
"If you're so sure…then I can try…" she finally ceded, internally thought she was excited to be so intimate with her crush
As she climbed on his back with her legs interlocked on his stomach, she saw him raise his hand in a sign before saying "Kai", she didn't really understand what the blond did, but he seemed to carry her much easier after muttering those words
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Uzumaki special line will take off in a few seconds, please hang on tightly to your seats, and don't forget to enjoy the view" An amused Naruto said
"What do you mea…" Hinata was cut off by the gust of wind hitting her face, at first it was somewhat uncomfortable, but after a few moments, she found it in her to open her eyes and gaze at the surrounding; the beauty of a world she had never seen was flying past her as each view was replaced by another.
After a few hours and some breaks, they had reached a place that was unlike any Hinata had seen on their way, the green meadow was replaced by a golden carpet of sand, ever fighting the blue water that systematically rose and fell, water that stretched as far as the eye could see, masking what lies behind the horizon; The sound of the waves crashing against the sandy beach filled her being a sea of serenity as she had yet to utter a word to her companion, the man that this place reminded her the most of.
"I'm glad you seem to like it as much as I did the first time I came here" declared Naruto
The only answer he got was a nod from the hypnotized looking girl that had already taken a seat beside him, a speck of sadness traversed his eyes "her clan compound must have been all she knew of the world, she had to endure what I did for so long…"
After relaxing in silence with the black-haired girl for a few minutes, he felt the inspiration to quote one of his life idols
"The world is vast and boundless, Hinata" he declared before adding a comment of his own "and we are but a grain of sand when compared to it, the universe was here before we came to be, and it will live on long after we turn back to dust; Thinking about this, I've always felt as if our petty goals and ambitions are insignificant in the great schemes of things" he finished with a dejected sigh
He was however surprised when he felt confident eyes looking at him as Hinata stated her disagreement "The universe might not change from our actions, but the lives and feelings of an enormous amount of people can be affected by our dreams, that's why I will always hold on to them, no matter what"
Impressed by her resolve he asked her in a curious tone "and what would those grandiose dreams be about, little kitten?"
After being slightly taken aback, Hinata was now looking at the far horizon, her posture didn't betray any lack of confidence as she declared "For many generations, our clan has been divided in two parts, the main house, which purpose is to run the affairs of the clan and lead it, and the branch house, the members of which are cursed with a seal that destroys the Byakugan if its user perish, the seal that was put on their forehead by members of the main house at birth allows them to inflict immense amount of pain and even death as cells of their brain gets destroyed one by one, this implicitly forces them to be obedient to the main house and be slaves in all but name"
Having never had a family, Naruto could only feel disgust and anger "how can you treat your own blood like that? this is wrong on so many level" he spat before advising her to follow his ideals "you should take as much distance from them as you can and live your own life, maybe this way you can be free"
Shaking her head, the girl's resolve didn't' flinch "No, I won't run away, despite all of their flaws, I care too much for them to do so, instead, I will face my clan problems head on and change it from its foundation when the time will come from me to lead it" she solemnly proclaimed
This declaration left the blonde in a weird position, he was impressed and inspired by her goals and determination to achieve them, and yet they were contrary to the way he has lived his whole life "Am I a coward for not facing the village like she does her clan?" He snickered "who thought that Hinata of all people would have more gut than me?"
"lead it?" Naruto paused for a second as his brain processed the new information before his eyes shot open at what was implied with her words
"wait…you're telling me I just kidnapped the Hyûga heiress?" muttered the blonde in a low tone filled with fear
Hinata shifted uncomfortably in her position as she shyly apologised "I'm sorry Naruto-san, I should have told you about this beforehand…"
It was all his fault after all, he rightly guessed that his classmates were the respective heirs to their clan, but he just did not think that the shy girl that would not hurt a fly was the heir to the most powerful clan in the village…how foolish of him
"Bah, there is no way they find out about this anyway, I'm confident in my fuinjutsu skills " he declared confidently trying to hide the fear he felt
After a few rounds of laughs, they settled in a calm atmosphere, chatting like they usually did until the conversation fell into a comfortable silence, as one could only hear the soothing song of the waves, a mood that for some reason gave Hinata the courage she needed to say the things she wanted to say for so long
"You know, Naruto" she started attracting the blonde's attention
"I've always looked up to you, you showed me that being strong doesn't mean you have to give up on your kindness, you showed me that one can still be happy even if the world doesn't want you to be , I've always been inspired by you since that day in the park, and finding you again in my class, I discovered I had started to develop feelings for you" she finished with a blush while looking straight ahead, not wanting to meet his gaze
"Feelings huh…?" Naruto finally answered after being shocked, he paused for a moment before continuing "Love shouldn't be something that stems from someone getting saved by another, a relationship shouldn't be built on a hero princess structure, it should be a feeling that you genuinely appreciate the person with all his quirks and shortcomings, yet as of right now, I can only think that you see me as this perfect stronger than life figure, a person that as much as it irks me to admit, I'm not"
Noticing the dejected look, the girl had after his speech, he tried to cheer her up "I mean we only about each other for a few weeks, what if one day you find out something about me that you just won't stand, like me constantly picking my nose or something?" he said as he jokingly put his pinkie in his nose
"I guess you're right, Naruto, I got ahead of myself…I'm sorry" muttered the Hyûga seemingly still sad about being rejected
"Hey, I didn't say that it can't ever happen, little kitten; You're honestly a stunningly beautiful woman, and I'm sure there is someone extraordinary lying under that shy attitude of yours, I just want to take the time to know her" he exclaimed, not giving up on trying to lighten her mood, for it only to improve slightly as she just nodded in response
Sighing, Naruto shifted in his position "When I was young, the Hokage assigned someone to take care of me, I was an orphan that never experienced the warmth that came from being a part of a family, and so when this person gave it to me, I developed a huge crush on her, I don't think I cared that she was a woman years older than me, I was just hypnotized by those deep red eyes of hers…but I finally understood how dumb those feelings were when people started giving her the same hateful gaze that they gave me, and there, I knew I wanted to protect my family more than this foolish crush of mine, so I abandoned It and tried to take my distances from her…today, I don't know if it was the right thing to do, as I now know that I've hurt this person that is so dear to my heart, but at least I know that I will always try to protect her as the big sister I never had" he finished his monologue with a content smile
Hinata was surprised at how the boy shared one of his most personal stories, but she started to understand the reasons he rejected her, he already experienced the feelings she had, and so he didn't want her to do the same mistakes that he did
And yet for some reasons, the feelings didn't go away, nor did she want them to go, a growing part of her wanted to keep approaching the warmth of this, even if it meant she would risk getting burnt, yes, even if those feelings were wrong, she would still treasure them.
"I understand what you're trying to explain, Naruto…" she began before locking her lavender eyes with his blue ones as a wave of determination invaded her " But weren't you the one that told me to never give up on the things I wanted?"
Wide eyed at the girl proclamation, he shook his head with a smile as he raised his hand, seemingly about to flicker the girl's head as he so often does
The girl in question closed her eyes, bracing herself for the small pain that would come on her head, but all she felt was a hand softly caressing it
"Stubborn kitten"
-Scene Break-
"For kami's sake, what has gotten into you, Naruto" thought a concerned Iruka as he was on his way to his student chakra location, he thanked god he was had good sensory skill, it wasn't very hard to track him.
Upon getting notice that Uzumaki Naruto would be on his class, Iruka was first apprehensive as the blonde had quite the reputation that followed him, but when the time came for them to meet on a daily basis, he only saw a normal kid enjoying his academy years, he wasn't any different than any of his other student, if anything, he seemed more capable and mature than most, and so when the student with the most potential in his class failed the easiest jutsu of the academy three in a test, he got worried, as he would for any of his students, but this worry soon increased tenfold when the ever confident Naruto took off from his class, with a look of frustration that was unlike anything he had seen the blonde's face portray
But all of his questions were answered when his eyes fell upon the boy sitting in a clearing not far from the village, he seemed to be in some kind of meditating pose, but the most stark feature was the insane amount of leaves glued to his body, it was a surprise for Iruka, as the majority of academy student would be able to perform most low to mid rank jutsus with just the basic chakra training, which consisted of trying to make one leaf stick to their forehead, yet, Uzumaki Naruto had dozens and dozens of leaves, he may be years ahead of his peers in chakra control, but then, how did he fail the cloning technique ?
"If you keep trying hard enough, you'll be able to become a tree one day" joked the teacher as he made his presence known
Not breaking his concentration, the blond answered in a frustrated tone "maybe that's what it will take for me to create a damned clone"
"seeing how advanced you are in chakra training, I'm surprised you haven't been able to make one, maybe you are doing the hand seals wrong?" hypothesized Iruka
"And I've been failing two successful academic years because I'm a moron that can't reproduce basic hand signs?" spat the irked boy
"No…I mean" babbled a now embarrassed Iruka
With a very long sigh, Naruto declared "Sorry, it's just frustrating me more than it should, I have a gargantuan reserve of chakra, and I've been training to control it for many years…but now it's grossly apparent to me that it is no where near enough for me to do this oh so simple task…"
Letting the boy work in silence for a few minutes, Iruka then decided to break it
"for as smart as you seem to be, you didn't think too much outside the box this time, Naruto" calmly pointed out the brown-haired man, causing the blonde to raise eyebrows
"If you weren't so prideful and confident, maybe you would have asked someone for help, and then you'd know that there are better ways to train chakra control" declared Iruka
"Better ways?" curiously asked the blonde
"of course, or did you think that the exercises we give to academy students are all there is? it is usually enough for them, but it falls short for higher rank ninjas that have much bigger chakra reserves" calmly stated the teacher
"It's not like I've been doing this with one leaf for all those years…" weakly defended Naruto
"Yes, I can see that you've come far in this exercise, but think about it this way, when starting to work out, push ups are a very good exercise, but at some point, you will be strong enough that they won't be able to stress your muscle enough for them to grow, and instead of doing more push ups" he said as he passed his hand on the leaves glued to the blonde's body "you have to add more weight" he finished with a smile
-Scene Break-
For the next months, the teacher and his student spent more and more time together, while Iruka was initially just trying to help a struggling student, he came to grow closer to the blonde as he saw himself in him, Iruka was always below his peers in terms of skills, being looked down upon, he spilled sweat and spilled blood to be recognized and respected, it was those hardships that planted in the man the desire to help others, inspiring him to become a teacher, he had found the same determination in Uzumaki Naruto as he saw him struggle in the tree climbing exercise
"Hahahaha" laughed a man from the bottom of his heart as he was walking besides a very annoyed looking blonde
"It wasn't that funny" muttered Naruto
"Yeah for sure, looking at someone fall on their mighty ass as they were so happy to reach the top of a tree that they broke their concentration was definitely not that funny" joked the chunin
"Well at least I proved my noisy annoying sensei wrong, I did master tree walking before the end of the year" he weakly retorted
"That I can't argue with, and you know what? I think we should celebrate that, how about ramen?"
The boy's eye transformed into stars as his mood completely changed into one of total excitement
As the duo took seats in the stand, they were greeted by its owner Teuchi "Ah! Iruka-Kun, it has been a long time since a regular like you passed by, how have you been?"
That prompted the blonde to send his teacher a confused look which was instantly answered by a shrug "did you think you were the only one that loved ramen in this town? "
"No, but I've never seen you around, and I'm here a lot"
"you'll understand when you'll become ninja Naruto, there are so many missions to be done that we don't have much time to go out" casually explained Iruka
Naruto could not help but smile at his teacher's declaration, it's as if he had all the confidence in the world that Naruto would succeed his graduation
"Then I'll do all the missions, that way we'll be able to come here as much as we want " declared the cheerful blonde
They went on to have a ramen eating contest seeing as they both loved the food, that made a certain stand owner very happy
"Hohoho, I didn't think there would be someone able to compete with the young hokage when it came to ramen" stated Teuchi
"young Hokage ?" asked a curious Iruka as he was finishing his third bowl
"ehm…when I was young, I wanted to become hokage" admitted an embarrassed Naruto
"and why would you be so ashamed of that?"
"I'm not really liked by the people in this village, I'm sure you have heard of some of the rumours about me, I don't know if I can achieve this foolish dream knowing that"
"people's opinion can change, Naruto, you just have to work hard, and I know that you have it in you to do so" confidently declared
"and why would you be so adamant that I follow this path?" sceptically asked the blonde
"Well, I'm still your teacher, and my dream is to see my student fulfil their ambitions"
That caused the blonde to roll his eyes at his teacher-answer
"That and the fact that I also wanted to be hokage when I was your age…but unlike me, you have the potential to become one, little brother"
The next chapter is when things really start to go down, that will be when the soul of this work will be formed, I cannot wait to start writing it, until then , please share your opinion with me as a review or a PM.
Cheers !