A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourite and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.
"We are sitting here, guys!"
Chatter echoed throughout the BBQ restaurant. People looking at the menu as they waited impatiently for their favorite entertainment to start. For some strange reason, the Yuuei High Sports Festival was starting later then its usual scheduled time. The screen came to life, and Hinata settled her eyes on the television screen.
Kiba pulled her sleeve and Hinata swirled her head at her teammate. Her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink before returning back to its usual pale colour. She flickered her eyes at the smiling Ino and Sakura before glancing at Shikamaru and Choji, who seemed almost amused at her behavior.
Naruto would have been teasing her like there was no tomorrow and complaining that she should find someone else to like. But her friend always had a smile and a twinkle in her eyes, always silently telling her that she encouraged her feelings for Kiba.
Hinata slid into the booth, landing right beside an exhausted Sakura and sitting across her was Ino. She darted her eyes to the television screen, wishing not for the first time that Naruto was here with them to watch the Sports Festival.
Her best friend would have enjoyed the Sports Festival, probably wishing that she could do the moves that the actors could do. Naruto probably would have been inspired by them, or she would have gotten in a bad mood. For the last two years, they kept having an actor that looked like Sasuke playing in the TV show. Sakura and Ino always got upset at the sight of him, but Hinata worried how Naruto would have reacted.
Sakura and Ino might have a crush on Sasuke, but Naruto had always been trying to act like Sauske's friend.
"We did amazing in our mission, didn't we Hinata?"
Hinata blinked and looked up from the menu when Kiba flashed everyone a grin, tugging her sleeve. Almost all of the members of Team Ten rolled their eyes, letting out a good-natured laugh while Sakura sighed, looking almost disappointed at the reminder that they were going on missions. The pink-haired girl still went on missions, but there was a difference between going on a mission with a team and your genin team.
Hinata pressed her lips and didn't look at Sakura, while Ino frowned at Kiba for bringing out the fact that he had been on a mission with them.
"Your Class Representative is from Class 1A: Uzumaki Naruto!"
The joyous atmosphere shifted to a stunned atmosphere as all chatter died down and every single person in the restaurant turned their attentions to the television screen. Crowds of teenagers were gathered around a podium as a familiar blond-haired, whiskered teen walked to the front of the podium.
"D-Did they just say Uzumaki Naruto?" Ino stuttered, breaking the slience between them. "Did they really have someone that looks like her come and act in this show?"
Pale milky eyes focused on the television screen, which seemed to be zooming in on the Class Representative for the first episode of the season. The familiar sight of long straight sunkissed locks tied into a single ponytail that barely touched her ankles sent a flash of hope and concern through Hinata. Whiskers marks decorated her cheeks and the round cheeks of their childhood seemed to have faded into a more heart-shape face.
She looked like Naruto, but could it really be her?
"She looks like a prettier version of Naruto," Choji commented.
Kiba nodded. "She is definitely hotter than the Naruto that we know. Do you remember how chubby Naruto was when we were twelve?"
"She wasn't chubby," Hinata declared, pressing her lips into a thin line. The words that Naruto had always been pretty were on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed the words back. They were in a crowded restaurant and getting into a fight was not going to win her any favors with anyone.
"I wonder what lines they gave her to say," Ino commented. "I can't imagine the Naruto lookalike making comments about being respectful to the rules or anything like that."
Hinata pressed her lips into a thin line and put her menu up, pale milky eyes focused on the television screen. She tightened her grip on the menu, ignoring the looks of concern being thrown her way from both Shino and Kiba.
'Everyone that has come to this school, came here because we have a dream that we think Yuuei can help us achieve." Hinata loosened her grip on the menu and dropped it on the table. "Not everyone here is in the hero course, but they worked their asses off to get here…because getting here isn't easy. We are lucky to be gifted with teachers that care about our mental well-being and physical well-being."
Pale milky eyes widened as whispers broke out about the speech. Hinata nibbled her bottom lip as blue eyes shone with gratefulness. She smoothed her shirt, taking deep breaths as her brain tried to process what was being said on television. Was Naruto-chan trying to send her a message? It sounded like it, but it could be wrong of her.
"I can't ever imagine Naruto or anyone looking like her, saying something like this," Sakura commented.
Ino nodded. "She was always making things about herself."
Hinata grinded her teeth, jaw clenched as she tried to rein in her growing temper. What did they know about Naruto? Her best friend always put other people before herself. Sure, there had been times when Naruto made things about herself but everyone did it.
"She isn't capable of saying these kind of things," Kiba said.
Pale milky eyes narrowed at her friend's words. "Naruto is more than capable of not making things about herself. She is able to make speeches or did you forget about the Chunin Exams? Do you know why she purposely angered everyone in the Chunin Exam?"
No words were spoken between them and Hinata expected this. The only person, who would have understood Naruto's action, probably was Sasuke. The two of them had been the best of friends since they were six, except the two of them had never always been on the same page. Hinata sighed and looked at the actor that looked exactly and sounded like the Naruto that she knew.
"It was because we were all so nervous about the Chunin Exams and Naruto wanted to break the tension." Hinata declared and everyone blinked at their words. The only person, not surprised by her words, was Shikamaru. He had always been observant and always analyzing them, so he probably knew Naruto's reason.
"Hinata-chan, I don't know if you are watching this but I want to say that I know I disappointed the shit out of you." Pale lavender eyes widened as the members of Rookie Nine blinked. Her throat tightened. "But I heard you, loud and clear that day."
Hinata smiled and gulped down a lump when she saw the emotions shining through her friend's eyes. Regret shone through those eyes and tears almost seemed to be shining through her eyes, which spoke volumes that this was Naruto. This was not some actor pretending to be her, but the best friend that had always been there for her. The friend that just wanted to have someone care for her.
"T-That's Naruto?" Ino stuttered.
Sakura frowned. "Why is she apologizing to you? What is she talking about?"
Pink lips pressed into a thin line and Hinata regarded the teammate that Naruto always complained about. "Did you even visit her in the hospital? She was a mess after coming back from that mess of a mission. She was refusing to talk to anyone and I begged her to talk to me. I wanted her to give me a sign that she listened to me, but she never answered me."
"…But I'm okay now and I'm going to win the whole damn thing!"
Shikamaru shifted his eyes to her. "What does Naruto mean that she is okay now?"
"You didn't visit her so you wouldn't know what happened to her after the mission," Hinata took a deep breath as Shikamaru grimaced at the reminder. His black eyes shone with guilt for his actions and the girl continued on, ignoring the action. "Naruto wasn't talking to me and she barely ate her hospital food. I felt like I was losing my best friend."
"That doesn't sound like Naruto," Choji frowned and looked away from her.
Hinata fixated her eyes on Sakura. "You are right. This doesn't sound like Naruto, but Naruto has always been emotional. She had always wore her heart on her sleeves, especially when it came to Sasuke. He was her first friend and Naruto always tried to act like a big sister, always wanted to compete with him. She always tried to make sure that he doesn't do something stupid."
"Why are you giving me that look, Hinata?" Sakura frowned and balled her hands into a fist.
Pale eyes stilted at the pink-haired girl. "You want to know why? Because you always do things that hurt her feelings and you always knew the right words to hurt her. You must have said something to hurt her again."
"I had never say anything—"
"Naruto tells me everything and you hurt her feelings when you thought she was so lucky not to have parents," Sakura's eyes widened and Hinata took a deep breath. Her hands trembled like it always did whenever she recalled the emotions that Naruto had that day. "She heard you, loud and clear about your feelings towards her."
Sakura blinked and looked guilty for her words but Hinata was going to rip her apart for those actions, because Naruto wasn't here to stop her. Her friend could claim that Sasuke did it already, but it was never enough. Nothing would ever be enough when she thought of how much Naruto suffered from losing the only mother figure in her life.
"You used to be bullied for having a large forehead and yet you decided to become a bully to Naruto," Sakura blinked and Hinata fixated her eyes on her. "You had no right to talk about her being lucky to not have parents, not when all she ever wanted was to have a family. You never even tried to understand her pain and you didn't think of what it must have been like for her to come back home without parents greeting her."
'Hey Hinata-chan, do you think my mummy would have been as nice as Sasuke's mum?"
She despised how much Sakura hurt her best friend.
Kakashi had always enjoyed watching the Yuuei Sports Festival, even as a child. Some of the special effects used on the show seemed so real that he used to wonder if he could make a jutsu out of them. He tried several times and a few of them were successful…while others had been a failed attempt. Obito used to enjoy them, always rooting for the underdog while Rin just liked to cheer for whoever she thought had a chance to win.
Minato-sensei had always watched them with sad, longing eyes.
So it was just natural for him to watch the Sports Festival with the other jounins in the Jounin Lounge. The other jounins were already sitting on their usual seats, their eyes eager to see of the new actors coming in for the First Year. Most of them didn't stand out to him except for a boy that looked a little bit similar to Minato-sensei and a girl, who looked exactly like his student.
She looked like how Kakashi imagined Naruto would look like when she turned fifteen. As a little girl, Kakashi had seen a lot of Minato-sensei in her but her face had always been rounder. Kushina had always complained about it and his own father used to remind her about it, before he died. So it was natural to presume Naruto would just grow into her looks when she grew up.
"Your Student Representative is from Class 1A: Uzumaki Naruto!"
Chatters broke out as all the Jounin gawked at the announcement of who was supposed to be the Class Representative for the First Year. The camera zoomed in on the blond-haired girl making her way to the podium, seeming to focus on the whisker marks that marked her as Naruto. It was Naruto because only his student had those whisker marks.
"What the hell is the brat doing there? Did she just suddenly decide to become an actress?" One of the jounin cried.
Kakashi ignored the questioning looks of his fellow jounin, only focusing on his blond-haired student. The girl inhaled and exhaled as her hands trembled like it always did whenever Naruto felt nervous or excited about something. It seemed like she was doing fine, despite the fact Tsunade exiled her for the next six years.
'It is for Naruto's own good that she is exiled, Kakashi!"
"At least, let me check up on her."
He shifted in his seat and stared at the smile playing on her lips. Blue eyes seemed to be scanning through the various faces of her fellow actors, or were they even actors? Naruto was intelligent, was good at deceiving people at times but his student could never really be a good actor. There was always a point when her emotions shone through, allowing anyone with eyes to read her.
"Her lines are a whole lot different from the lines that are always spoken in these things," Kurenai commented. "She is using vocabulary that I don't think the actual Naruto knows what to say."
Kakashi shook his head. "At first glance, you think Naruto is a simple person that doesn't know anything but if you take the time to observe her and watch her, then you would know that Naruto is smarter then she lets people think she is. She has always been smart."
Her test scores did not reflect it but Kakashi saw the level of thinking that Naruto used when it came to trap-making. In the team exercises, it had always been Naruto that had been given the job of making traps. Sasuke might have been in the top of his class but his skills paled against his prankster of a teammate. Sakura was analytical, but she had always been average in these areas of the shinobi arts.
Naruto always shone in those skills and it took a lot of brains and thinking to make these observations.
'Doggie! Granny is gone!"
His student had always been smarter than people give her credit, but Kakashi just wonder what forced his student to pretend that she doesn't fully understand things.
"Hinata-chan, I don't know if you are watching this but I just want to say that I know I disappointed the shit out of you. But I heard you, loud and clear that day." Black eyes widened and a pit of uneasiness settled in his stomach. The fact Naruto was calling out to Hinata told him that his student had done something really wrong to her friend for her to say this. His student would never publicly apologized, not unless she felt guilty for something.
Out of all the bonds that Naruto had, the bond between Hinata and Naruto rivalled the bond that Naruto had with Sasuke.
The fact she was also apologizing meant that the Sports Festival was not just some TV show. It meant that the world was filled with more countries and had more Kekkai Genkai then people could ever imagine. His lips curled into a frown. It meant that Minato-sensei had been right about the world being larger then they thought.
It meant that his student was competing against people with Kekkai Genkai and he wondered just how far Naruto had come in the last two and half years.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about the characters. What do you think of the reactions?