I hope you don't mind the time jumps and skips. Once we get into the main story where Naruto and the gang are like 13 it won't happen as much. I guess you can say this is kind of a filler chapter(but theres a reason for this so don't skip it), since I feel like its too soon to have the story pick up. Mostly because, I'm trying to have Naruko interact with some other characters instead of just her and Sasuke all the time. The next chapter is when things will pick up more. I promise! :)
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto yada, yada, yada, only own this fanfic yada, yada, yada.
Man, I really stink at chapter titles.
Naruko-ナルコ-
Chapter 3
A Humble Hinata and an Angry Aka
Naruko glanced down at her test results with glee. Once again, she had aced another one of her tests "What'd you get on your ninjutsu test?" she asked the Uchiha beside her.
"Hn, nothing special." he said, showing her his test results.
He always says that every time he gets a hundred. As modest as he was trying to act, his voice gave off that cocky of-course-I-passed tone.
Over the past few months, her and Sasuke rose to the top and became the top two students in Hana sensei's class. Training almost everyday, to the point where they both could throw a kunai at a target perfectly with ease.
"Wanna go buy some sweet-dango after class?" Naruko asked.
"You know I hate sweets."
"You're the first kid I've ever met to say 'I hate sweets'," she sighed. She swore Sasuke had the taste buds of an old man.
"And you're the first crybaby I've met who eats ramen all the time," he smirked.
"When are you going to stop calling me that?"
"Class quiet down!" Hana-sensei shouted as she looked at the blonde with a cold stare. Naruko was already used to the glares and would usually be passive with the sensei (cause if she didn't, who knows what the jonin might do to her).
As usual, class went by at a steady pace. Fast the first half and then extremely slow the last hour of class. But Naruko did her best to pay attention, with the occasional dozing off and at the clock. She got the gist of Hana-sensei's lesson which was on the moral's of ninjas. A ninja never shows fear in the eye of the enemy, and some survival methods. Which kind of bored the blonde because some of it was common sense.
"You never answered my question," Naruko told the Uchiha at the end of class "Do you want to go and buy some sweet-dango?"
Sasuke sighed "Alright I guess I'll come," which translated into 'sure, of course' In Naruko's mind. She knew he wasn't the most expressive kid.
"Alright! Lets go-"
"Sasuke," called out a familiar, mature voice. The two kids turn to see Itachi walking up to them "Mother wants you home early today."
"Huh? But why?" he whined.
"Because somebody forgot to clean their room," his brother chuckled, while Sasuke blushed in embarrassment.
"I'm not a kid you know," Sasuke crossed his arms.
"Well then, I'm sure mother will change her mind about that after you finish cleaning." For as long as the brother's could remember their mother always wanted the house to be clean. If so much as a spec of dirt entered the house she would pester them about cleaning it until they did it.
"Sorry Naruko, guess I have to go home now."
"Its okay," she smiled. Naruko could only wonder how dirty his room was. Compared to Naruto, Sasuke didn't seem like the type would would leave a mess laying around for days "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Yeah, later!"
What now? Naruko wondered. It had been awhile since she had free time to herself. Usually since Naruto would always be hanging out with his friends she would be training with Sasuke after school. As she looked at the playground in the distance she could see her brother playing with Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru.
I wonder what kind of prank they're going to pull today. She considered trying to hang out with the boys, but after hearing all the stories her brother would tell her of what they did she lost interest. Training was more important than pulling tricks and getting into trouble. Then, she heard something behind the bushes. Weird, its not windy today. Maybe theres a bunny hiding!
"Huh?" Naruko said, as she peeked over the bushes "You'e not a bunny."
"A-ah!" gasped the girl with clear eyes.
"Are you hiding from someone?" she asked the strange girl who hid in the bush.
"N-no, no!" she shouted immediately.
"Oh! Wait, I know! You're spying on my brother and the others."
"N-no! Its what what it looks like!" Naruko could tell that was an obvious lie.
"Can I join too?" Naruko asked as she sat next to the girl.
"Ah..." the girl hesitated and then nodded.
"I'm Naruko Uzumaki," as the girl heard her say her name her eyes widened.
"Uzumaki?"
"Uh-huh, I'm Naruto's sister in case you didn't know," Naruko assumed she was in her brother's class since she had never met the girl before.
"Uhm...I...I'm Hinata Hyuga."
"So Hinata, how come your spying on the guys?"
"I..." her faced turned into a dark shade of red "N-no reason!"
"Really?"
"R-really! Its no reason," it looked like she wasn't going to crack anytime soon.
Naruko decided not bother her about it, after all she had just met her "Its okay, you don't have to tell me. Ah-! They're on the move! Come on lets go!" Yanking her arm, the girls run out of the bushes and trail the boys from a distance.
"N-naruko...can we take a break?" Hinata stuttered, trying her best to keep up with the blonde.
"But..." Naruko paused, looking back at Hinata. She noticed she was wearing a pretty red kimono with sandals. Which definitely wasn't something anyone should be wearing while running "Okay, besides we can always catch up with them later." Then, she heard a rumbling noise.
"Ah!" Hinata gasped, trying to hide the noises coming from her stomach.
"Hey! Do you want to go and get some sweet-dango?" Naruko asked "My treat!"
"R-really? You don't have to..."
"Its okay, besides its right down the street so we don't have to walk far." The shy girl nodded and followed the blonde's lead.
"Mmm, its so sweet!" Naruko sighed in delight.
"Y-yeah...Thank you Naruko," her eyes then dropped to the floor. "Hey...can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"You don't think I'm...weird?" When she heard Hinata say that she nearly dropped her stick of dango. For a moment, Naruko felt like she heard herself talking.
"Of course not, why do you think that?" Naruko asked in a low tone.
"B-because...Allot of people make fun of my eyes. And they think I'm weird..."
Hinata being bullied? Naruko couldn't believe it, who would tease someone so friendly and humble?
Guess we have allot in common. As bad as Naruko felt for her she was also happy too to have met someone she could relate to.
"Well, look who it is," sang a familiar angry voice.
"Aka," Naruko whispered as she glared at the red head.
"I guess Sasuke finally decided to ditch you huh?" she chuckled, along with her other friend.
Whos she? I've never seen her before... Naruko wondered as he eyes drifted to the blonde haired girl beside Aka.
"Hinata?" Aka's friend said "You know her?"
"I...uh..." Hinata nodded her head slowly.
"Who are you?" Nauko finally decided to ask.
"Ino Yamanaka," she replied "So you're Naruto's sister. Well I can see the resemblance, you both have big heads."
"What do you guys want?" Naruko wasn't afraid this time. She wasn't going to run or back down.
"I came for payback," Aka growled "I'm sure you haven't forgotten about what happened the first day."
"Payback?" Ino wondered.
"She slapped me in front of the whole class, all because I asked if I could sit next to Sasuke."
"Aka thats not true," Naruko told her as she got up to face her bully. She wondered how far she was willing to stretch the truth "I slapped you because I was angry with what you did."
"Thats horrible!" Ino shouted.
"Lets go," Aka said with a serious tone "We'll settle this outside."
"Aka, I'm not going to fight you."
"Hmph, you scared because Sasuke isn't with you this time?"
"N-naruko..." Hinata whispered as Naruko handed her the rest of her stick of sweet-dango.
"Fine," Naruko sighed, hoping that this would settle things once and for all.
Naruko really didn't want to fight her. Its not because she was scared, it was because she already knew she was already at a disadvantage. To the village she was already known as a monster, so if they saw her fighting Aka they would immediately get the wrong idea and put all the blame on her. As best as she could, she was going to try and end this quickly.
"Aaah!" Aka charged at Naruko armed with a kunai knife. It was then Naruko realized Aka was serious, she aimed to hurt Naruko. Naruko dodged Aka's attack and tried to hit the kunai out of Aka's hand, but Aka backed away too quickly.
"Take this!" Aka shouted, throwing three kunai knives at Naruko.
Yes! Naruko chanted in her head. As she dodged the kunai she immediately ran to the kunais Aka had thrown and picked one up. Now she was armed, prepared for anything Aka had up her sleeve.
"Hn," Aka smirked, reaching into her weapon pouch.
"W-what are those?" Hinata asked Ino who were standing away at a safe distance.
"Sebon needles," Ino answered. "They're usually used for medical treatment. But if aimed properly, it could be deadly if it hits a vital spot."
Naruko saw Aka's hand shoot up throwing the senbon needles. Holding a kunai up in defense she did her best to keep her eyes on the needles that flew straight at her.
One...two... Naruko managed to dodge most of them, but one went skidding by her arm. Like a really bad paper cut.
"Gotcha," With Naruko distracted with the blood that came from her arm Aka used this to her advantage and punched Naruko in the cheek.
"Ah!" Naruko gasped and fell back.
"Now you're finished!" Aka held a kunai knife above Naruko, aiming for her chest. She wasn't going to just hurt Naruko, she wanted to kill her.
"Naruko!" Hinata cried.
Gotta think fast! Taking the kunai knife she used to block Aka's senbon needles, Naruko threw the kunai deep into Aka's thigh. Causing Aka to drop the kunai knife she held so viciously.
"Ow..." Aka held her Thigh as her pants started to strain from the blood. Then, she cried.
"Naruko!" Hinata shouted again as she ran to her side "A-are you okay?"
Naruko nodded her head and looked at her classmate who was in pain. Though Naruko won the fight, she didn't feel so victorious.
"You monster!" shouted a villager from one of the shops "How could you hurt that poor little girl?" Soon a small crowd of adults came to Aka's side. Some whos eye's were filled with concern for the red head, while the rest just glared at Naruko.
"I...I should probably go," Nauko left the scene before anymore adults came. The damage was done, and no matter what she did she knew she wouldn't be able to change it. They would always view her as a monster. Nauko was confused and unsure of what to do exactly. Sure she became stronger, but that still didn't change the single fact that allot of people shammed her.
Just how strong do I have to get?
"W-wait!"
"Hinata?" Naruko murmured, surprised that the introverted Hyuga had followed her "Whats wrong?"
"You...forgot this," Hinata stated, holding out the sweet-dango from earlier.
Naruko started at the delicious dessert. She came all this way just to give her back her food?
"Thank you," Naruko smiled "Hinata...Can I ask you something?"
Without hesitation Hinata nodded her head "Of course."
"What do you think of me?" she wanted her honest opinion. Did she see her as a monster? A freak of nature?
"Well," Hinata began "You're really strong...a-and kind...Just like your brother. And I...Thats what I really admire about you and Naruto."
Wait a second... Naruko thought when she heard her brother's name. The pieces were coming together. The reason she was behind the bush, the reason she blushed at the mention of Naruto. It all made sense.
"You must really like my brother," Naruko chuckled.
"What?!" Hinata's face blushed red again "H-how did you..."
"Its okay, your secret is safe with me."
"T-thank you so much!" Hinata went as far as to bowing.
"H-hey, you don't have to be so formal." As much as she appreciated it, it made Naruko feel abit uncomfortable "Thats what friends do."
"F-friends?" Hinata repeated.
"Yeah...We're friends, right?" Naruko hoped.
"R-right!" Hinata cried as tears came flowing out. But it wasn't tears of sadness, they were tears of happiness.
"Hinata stop it, or you'll make me cry," Naruko admitted. She was starting to get teary-eyed too.
"I...I'm sorry. I've never had...a friend before. S-so, all of this is...is new."
"Its okay," Naruko said "Do you still want to go spy on the boys?"
"Are you sure? W-what about your arm?"
Naruko looked down and saw the tiny wound was beginning to turn into a scab. To be honest, she had almost forgot about that.
"A-and your face too. You have a bruise."
Then, Naruko brought her hand up to her cheek. She could feel that it was a bit swollen "You're right. If Naruto sees this he might flip."
"I have ointment and bandages at my house...if you'd like,"
Naruko just shook her head "Its okay, I'll be fine. Besides, after what happened I don't think any of the adults would be too thrilled to see me."
"W-why do the adults hate you so much?"
Naruko really wished that she had an answer "I don't know...Its been like that for as long as I can remember." A hint, a clue, anything to appease her curiosity.
"Even the man who was in the dango shop saw everything...b-but he still sided with Aka."
"I wouldn't worry too much of it," she told Hinata. Though from the way Naruko said it, it sounded like it was directed to herself more "Anyways, I guess I should head home now. Before Naruto gets back."
"Y-yeah...Bye Naruko."
"Bye!" As Naruko made her way home she decided it would be better to take the back routes, just in case she wouldn't run into any trouble.
"Huh?" Naruko whispered, with her attention caught onto something out of the ordinary "Oh no...so thats what he did." Her eyes were glued to the Hokage building, that was covered all over with bright white toilet paper. Where in Konoha did the boys get that amount of toilet paper will remain a mystery. A mystery, Naruko didn't want to solve.
"Brother is going to be in big trouble this time..."
Oh brother.