Fight Against Fate

Author's Notes: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in this fic.

I apologize for not updating sooner. I just can't seem to put this fic together the way I want it to be. I don't find a lot of fics with Kabuto in them though, I wonder why.

*This is an edited version. Small revision though. Thank you for your reviews and I must have been drunk to make so many mistakes. I've corrected some, but maybe I was too sleepy to catch the rest. Hope you would bear with me! _ Remember to review! Btw, YAY! Naruto fics have hit 200! Hope more would be coming~*

Where the idea of being Hokage came from Naruto did not know. He just blurted whatever he could remember from his 'classes' during the day. That Iruku fellow was talking about the heroes of the village and he mentioned things like not giving up and protecting...things. Naruto had nothing to protect, but he was not about to give up so easily.

He's useless...That's the cursed boy...Don't go near him!...He's fated never to be a Konoha...He should just run away...

No...I will not run away...I am NOT fated to be alone! I WILL NOT DIE HERE!

After hearing his own words, he did feel stronger. Now he had a goal that is to be the next Hokage, to be acknowledged by the entire village, but that would be after he defeated these opponents first. With an exhausted fist he headed straight for the now maddened dog, plunging into a long and painful battle, not knowing that he had not only changed his life but also the little girl he had tried so hard to save.

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Hinata stared at the bloody scene before her as Naruto's words rang in echoes. At this late in the night others could only make out two figures lashing at each other, but Hinata's Byakugan could see that the boy was losing.

Somebody...help us...

I AM UZUMAKI NARUTO, THE NEXT HOKAGE! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED HERE!! Such a small body, yet such a big aim. He did not seem to be powerful, so why had he come? He did not know her, so why had he cared? At this rate, both of them would die. Unless...no, that's not possible. She did not have the ability to defeat these fierce dogs. And she was scared. Not only that, she was useless. Perhaps she should become dog food and vanish from the world.

But the boy should not die here. He had tried to save her and did not give up even though it was obvious he would lose. Why did he not run?

"Why..."

With a desperate kick the dog sent the boy flying towards Hinata. Getting up awkwardly with the boy unconscious on top of her, Hinata realized that he was badly wounded. The boy was going to die...in front of her...and it was all because of her. Clinging to him, Hinata cried,

"Why did you not run while you had the chance?!"

To Hinata's surprise, the boy opened his eyes. However, when he spoke, he seemed to be speaking to himself rather than to her,

"I will not run...anymore. I will...not be...alone..."

For the first time that night Hinata saw the boy's face clearly. She had seen him in school before. He was the boy everyone avoided for no reason. People warned her about him, and she obeyed them. However, looking at his lonely eyes she realized that they were alike. Feeling like a rotten egg for listening to the others Hinata tried to recall what she knew about him. They both were alone with no friends to play with and both of them sought acknowledgement from the people around them. However, Hinata could be considered fortunate compared to him. She had status and a family, while he had nothing but discrimination and resentment from everyone. Yet he had courage to fight all that. He did not run away from that all and even aimed to be a Hokage, while Hinata thought of giving everything up.

No, she would change. She would stand up and fight her destiny, but for now, she would fight for him.

Please give me some of your courage...

Laying him down to rest, Hinata stood up with determination rather than courage. Not hesitating if she could or could not defeat the opponents in front her, she concentrated her Byakugan and prepared for battle.

The forest covered the scene and only the smaller and smarter rays of moonlight managed to penetrate the leaves to watch the fight. Leaves swayed in encouragement for the little girl fighting for her life against two beasts of the night.

While Hinata gained strength from Naruto and decided to battle, one of the dogs moved towards its wounded mate. Wailings and growling, which only the same species would understand, passed between them and suddenly, the wounded one got up. Apparently, they had decided the best way to take their meal was to strike them down together. Giving no time for warnings, they plunged towards the blonde brat.

With her Byakugan, Hinata aimed her palms at their limbs' inner coils. One of the dogs dodged her attack and bit her arm, hard. The other less fortunate dog's legs became useless now. Being unable to get up it howled both in pain, anger and desperation.

Hinata's arm was bleeding, but such close distance was an advantage to her. Using the Hyuga 'Gentle Fist' she hit her attacker in the ribs and it collapsed without a sound or protest. Both opponents were finally down.

The trees seemed to have parted as a reward for the victory. The no-longer mocking moon shone on the clearing brightly and Hinata examined the scene before her. She had just defeated two dogs double her sizes.

No, I could not have done it without him...

Hinata scrambled towards Naruto and checked on his wounds. Amazingly, they were not as bad as they seemed earlier. However, medical attention was still required for a small boy like him. Hinata heaved his arm across her shoulder, neglecting her own wounds. All she knew was that she had to get help for Naruto. It was he who had saved them tonight. She would not let him die. Supporting a boy's weight was a great burden to Hinata's little body, especially with a sprained ankle and a bleeding arm. Nevertheless, she would not give up and headed back towards the village, now visible under the merciful moonlight.

Something hit her hard on the head. Startled, Hinata lost her balance and fell forward, taking Naruto along with her. Her head felt hot suddenly and as she reached up she felt hot liquid flowing down her hair. Her head was bleeding.

Everything was too sudden. Before she could adjust to the fact that there was a hole in her head, Hinata was surrounded by many growls, piercing eyes and sharp fangs. The dogs she had defeated were ones that held grudges. Now all of their friends gathered to avenge them, as well as earn a meal. Hinata panicked. How could she defeat them all?

A few started to grab Naruto by the leg.

"NO!"

Hinata's body moved without her consent and hit those dogs. Enraged by her attack, the others closed in on her. Ignoring the pain she felt by their teeth and claws, Hinata desperately fought those trying to feast on Naruto. There were too many of them. Was she going to die now? To think she had finally decided to fight, to live. Was there really no chance for her?

Hinata was half conscious now. Her arms moved automatically to hit the opponents in front of her. Her eyes were dimming and her legs weak. All she could think about was to protect Naruto.

If she had not been so beaten up, she would have heard a yelp, followed by plenty more. When all yelps were gone, so had the dogs. Hinata's knees caved in and she fell on her knees, her arms collapsing in fatigue. She did not know if it was the blood, tears or mere exhaustion that caused her eyes to be blurry. She wanted to move towards Naruto, to see if he was alright, when a figure caught her body and lifted her up. She wanted to fight in protest, but the strong arms held her still and a familiar voice said,

"Hush, Hinata. Everything's alright now."

"How...a-about Naruto...?"

Guessing that that was the name of the unconscious boy on the ground, the voice replied,

"He will be fine."

Hinata smiled with relief, then she cried when she recognized the voice. All her fears and anguish were poured out as she hugged the figure,

"I was so s-scared! I-I thought you don't want me anymore, Papa!"

Sensing his daughter's inner pain and sadness, Hiashi held her tight, all anger had transformed into guilt. The doctor had panicked when he told him Hinata had disappeared. When her footsteps were found near the dojo, the doctor was horrified. He then told Hiashi what Hinata might have heard from his conversation with the servant. Furious at the gossiping servant, Hiashi sent everyone in the household to search for her. He was also mad at Hinata for running away just because of a mere rumor (sort of). What was she thinking, troubling everyone like this? With a sprained ankle, she could not be far. They searched the playground, the school and even her cousin's place. His heart practically stopped when she could not be found. Only when he sensed a disturbance in chakra flow, he proceeded towards the forest.

It was the first time he had seen his daughter fight in a real battle. To him, she may be weak, but to many others, she came from the famous Hyuga Clan. Her attacks were powerful and full of determination that many corpses rested around her. But she was too badly wounded to continue, and she was too young to go on. With a powerful glare, Hiashi's Byakugan managed to scare the wild dogs away, for good.

Hiashi rebuked himself for being the cause of all this. How could he have neglected his little daughter to cause her to run away? How could he call her a coward when she could face such a number of opponents? Hinata showed so much courage and strength tonight than she ever had during their training, and she even protected someone.

"You've made me proud, Hinata."

Looking at the blonde boy Hiashi realized who he was. Now he remembered that Naruto was the name given to the boy in which the Nine-Tails Demon Fox was sealed in. Never had he thought that the two would meet under such circumstances. What Hiashi did not know was that both kids' lives had been changed that night.

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Naruto woke up in his bed the next day. He was rather confused at the event that happened last night. Was it a dream? It was too vivid to be a dream. Sitting up he KNEW it was not a dream. He was practically clothed in bandages. No wonder he felt hot. Pulling off all the stained dressings recklessly Naruto was shocked to see all his wounds had healed.

Whoa! Must have been some powerful doctor...

Getting dressed for school, Naruto tried to recall what happened last night. If he was back here in bed, that meant someone had saved him. But what about the girl? Did she make it? Who saved him? Many questions popped in his head and he almost missed a piece of paper lying on his table. Noticing the new addition in his house, Naruto picked up the paper and tried to read the words based on what he learnt in school.

"Dear Uzumaki Naruto. Thank you for everything. You have saved me with your s-strength and con...confide...god, why is this so difficult to read? I sincere-ely wish that you achief your dream as a Hokage in the future..."

Tired of trying to decipher the note, Naruto thought of what he said last night. He had mentioned  of becoming the next Hokage? The girl had thanked him, which meant she was alive because of him. Smiling at the thought, Naruto kept the memorable yet half-unread letter in his drawer and headed for the door. So what if people did not like him now? When he becomes Hokage, everyone would know that they were wrong and would beg him for forgiveness. Everyone would acknowledge his existence and they would all like him. He was already imagining scenes where people were offering him tons of ramen and kneeling before him and such. Perhaps becoming a Hokage would not be so bad after all. Grinning like an idiot, Naruto left the house toward his new goal in life, to become stronger, to become Hokage!

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Hinata could not go to school that day as she was still covered with bandages. Besides, she did not really wish to go to school. It was the first time in a long while that she was being treated like a princess. Although she got a huge lecture from both her parents, they stayed with her the whole night. Her mother was tending to all her needs and did not want to let her out of her sight. Hinata felt remorse for running away, but that could wait. Right now she was extremely happy that her parents cared for her and loved her. Her father had sent the family physician to tend to Naruto after Hinata and she had asked him to pass Naruto a letter. She filled all her gratitude and admiration to him in the letter. Hopefully he would read the entire note. He had given her confidence and courage to face her destiny. He had also given her a dream.

"Hinata dear, here's your porridge. Eat it while it's hot."

Turning her thoughts away from Naruto, Hinata smiled,

"Yes, Mama."

Thank you.

Um...that's all folks! There'll be an epilogue coming up, but that contains spoilers. So for those who haven't read Volume 11, you can treat this as the end of the fic. Once again, thanks for your reviews!