Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or any of the other characters that Kishimoto Masashi came up with.
On with ch3! Another piece of the puzzle is close to being revealed!
"I think you should tell him." Jiraiya spoke to the black haired man standing in front of him. "He knows about Kyuubi now, and about his origins. Its only fair to him to have you tell him the truth."
"Are you out of your mind, Jiraiya? That past is long forgotten. I have no desire to talk to the demon-child. My answer is no." The man said, starting to close the door.
The old sennin crossed his arms and closed his eyes defiantly. "I would be glad to tell Naruto myself, if that is your desire." The door came to a halt just before the latch clicked. The black haired man hung his head, knowing Jiraiya had won. He did not want to ever see that boy, the reminder of his anguish ever again, and now that he knew of his descent, it would be even more difficult for him to confront him. He reopened the door, and looked up with his icy white eyes, a hint of sadness etched into his features.
"I… am not sure I can comply fully with your request, Jiraiya." he said, straightening his back, trying to gather his remaining dignity. "The subject was not one that I expected to have to broach for some time. However, out of respect for you, and for the Hokage, I will do my best to fulfill what you ask."
"Good." Jiraiya said, turning away, "We will meet you at the Ichiraku ramen stand at noon tomorrow. I'll inform Tsunade of your compliance. Thank you, Hiashi; I know it is difficult for you. The boy deserves all we can give him though. He's spent his entire life in a veil of mystery, not knowing who he is or where he came from."
The Hyuuga clan heir bowed slightly. "As you request." He said, before closing the door in front of him. As he carefully but firmly pressed the door into its jamb, he put his head onto the wood surface and closed his eyes, his mouth curved downward in an expression of sheer anguish. "How long has it been, my love. I miss you so." His thoughts were swimming. On one hand, he was angry and sad; on the other he was relieved.
"F-Father?" he heard a small voice squeak from behind him. "Ano, A-are you all right?" The elder Hyuuga's face hardened as he turned around to face his daughter. He looked down at her, with his usual stony exterior and crossed his arms.
"It is of no concern to you. Please return to your bedroom." He frostily said as he marched past her toward his chambers. Hinata was used to his harshness however, and did not show any visible emotion as she turned around and made her way through the vast interior of the Hyuuga manor. She found the door to her room and shuffled slowly back to her futon. As she lay down, her thoughts turned to the obvious look of pain on her father's usually solid exterior. He rarely showed any emotion at all, besides the looks of disgust he often threw his weakest daughter. Oh how she wanted to be seen, to actually be recognized by her father, let alone the clan elders. She wistfully thought back on the fateful day when her sister Hanabi, 5 years her younger, defeated her in an even match. She had never been so humiliated, so alone. The look of absolute determination etched on her younger siblings face as she attacked her sister without remorse shook Hinata's nerves. How could she fight her own sister, when her sister was intent on beating her at all costs? There was no feeling in her eyes, as someone who fought a stranger in a competition match. Hinata inhaled regretfully at the painful memory. She wanted a family, but her own was barely thus. She was a failure and a disappointment to them, but there was always something that hung over her. There was something more to it, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Just being weak was bad enough, but she could always marry someone stronger in that case. The clan had no qualms with giving the clan heir-hood to the younger sibling, so why should they hate her? The petit raven-haired girl whimpered softly as tears welled up in her eyes. "Is there any hope for me?" she thought, "I can't see it, if there is." Sleep gradually came to her, covering the small girl with the absolute peace if afforded. Tomorrow would be a new day, full of new events. Perhaps fate had something better in store for her.
Daybreak came to Naruto like a wash of color over a clean canvas. His mind was clear, he was full of joy. The previous day's events had given him a new lease on life. No longer was he simply the container for a deadly monster, but he was the son of one of the heroes of Konoha village. He marched cheerily into his kitchen, and opened his pantry, scanning its interior for available victuals. He reached for a cup of instant ramen then with a start yanked his hand out the food closet. What was he thinking!? Instant ramen!? He should be celebrating! He threw on his usual orange clothing and rushed out the door, still with one arm out of its sleeve. He stumbled down the stairs, his wallet, gama-chan in his mouth. Today would be a good day!
As he approached Ichiraku's stand he noticed an unusual figure sitting in seat to the far left. The ramen stand had its regulars; it was very unusual to see new faces in the little stand. As he got closer he began to recognize the figure. It was a girl his age, wearing a sheepskin jacket, with fur at the cuffs and waist. She looked down at the bowl pensively, fiddling with the noodles. The steam had long gone away from the broth's surface and the foodstuffs within were soggy and dissolving. "Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted, remembering the 'proud failure' speech she had recently given him. She had given him the strength to defeat her cousin that day, and for that he would never forget her. The girl startled slightly at the new voice shattering her private world. A small blush formed on her pale cheeks as she recognized the owner of the voice.
"Naruto-kun! A-ano I… breakfast!" she squeaked out, twiddling her fingers nervously by her lower lip, her eyes closed tightly. "Wonderful, Hinata" she thought, "Now he's REALLY going to think you are a freak." To her surprise, when she opened her eyes and looked over, her gaze was met by Naruto, smiling with a toothy ear to ear grin. She quickly looked back down to her bowl and began playing with its contents again at a frantic pace."
"Hey, Hinata! Guess what! I found out who my dad is!" he shouted waving his wallet in the air, "Its time to celebrate!" Ichiraku grinned at his favorite customer. "Haha, so the boy knows now. It's good to see a smile on his face once again." he thought.
"So, what'll it be today? It's on the house today! I'll even make the girl a bowl if she wants one." Ichiraku smiled. Naruto looked at her already ice cold bowl of ramen, and squinted his eyes. What a horrible waste! "Maybe I should suggest a flavor, since she didn't like that one!" Naruto thought, oblivious to her inner turmoil.
"You should try the udon shrimp noodles Hinata-chan!" he grinned, proud of his 'earth shattering' realization. "Hey, Ichiraku-san, an udon shrimp for her and miso pork for me!" he shouted. The amicable store owner grinned and started frying the ingredients for the dishes. Hinata started to protest, the LAST thing she wanted was to impose on the nice man's kindness, but Naruto looked back to her and interrupted her train of thought. "I found out last night about my dad!" he said, crossing his arms proudly on his chest. As he was saying it, the realization dawned on him. Did she know, like the adults did, about him and the Kyuubi? It stood to reason that it would be a secret to the other children of the village, aside from him. If his dad wanted to keep it an absolute secret, the adults of the village would have been asked to keep silent about the events to their children. Perhaps he should keep the identity of his dad to himself. It might not go over well with this strange, shy girl that he barely knew. "Well anyway", he said, looking from the girl who was waiting for his revelation expectantly, "It was nice to know who I am, even if my father is dead." Hinata creased her eyebrows in sadness. The boy she had watched and admired so long... Just finding out about his DEAD father was enough to make him happy enough to celebrate. What totally different worlds they lived in. Here she was struggling to be out from under her father's hurtful eye, when all that this boy wanted was to know who his father was. It made her ashamed that she was so selfish.
"Hinata, it is time for you to be going home now." Hinata recoiled at the voice to her left. To her surprise she felt a gentle hand being place on her shoulder. She looked up at her father, who for the first time in her whole life was giving her a look that expressed warmth. She looked up in wonder at her father, not sure how to respond. "He would take care of you like no other." he whispered, eyes squinted intensely, half intending it to be a private thought. Naruto looked at him confused. Hinata passed out.
When she came to she saw her father looking at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you all right, Hinata? You fainted suddenly." He said, knitting his eyebrows. She nodded in assertion, and then remembered the reason why she fainted.
She shot upright and began stammering, "A-ano, father, Naruto-kun and I… ah… it's not like that!" She looked over at Naruto slowly, half hoping to see disappointment on his features. All she was met with was a blank stare. For a moment there was an awkward silence as Hiashi sought for something to say to relieve his daughter's embarrassment, Jiraiya gave the waitress at the stand 'the eyes', Naruto stared at Hinata and Hiashi, attempting to ascertain the situation, and Hinata blushed furiously. Hiashi looked up at Jiraiya, silently pleading with him for help. The old lecher looked over the hand on his chin and raised an eyebrow to Hiashi. Hinata took the chance to excuse herself from the uncomfortable situation and backed away mumbling apologies and playing with her thumbs.
"W-what was that all about??" she stammered inwardly. "My father… he looked at me… and it was with kindness! And he thought Naruto and I were on a date! I don't understand, he normally would have been very angry." Her mind clawed for an answer, but could not find one. All she knew was that the events made her feel happy, with a hint of worry at the strange behavior. Deep down inside her father knew more about Naruto than she did, and she wanted to share the knowledge.
"Naruto, lets go to the training grounds, there is something Hiashi-san wants to say to you." Jiraiya said. Naruto, still confused at the previous events, followed his sensei silently, scratching the back of his head. The silent procession of Hiashi, Naruto, and Jiraiya passed the outskirts of town, and finally arrived at their destination. Jiraiya directed Naruto to a rock, and the elder Hyuuga to a nearby stump. Hiashi slowly and apprehensively sat, subconsciously resisting the discomfort that was to come. He didn't want to relive this, and yet he was doing so for a boy that up until yesterday he hated, and for his daughter who up until yesterday was his biggest disappointment. His thoughts were amok; but deep inside, he knew what he must do. The pain was great, but the only way to alleviate it was to reopen the wounds, to allow the poison to escape. He knew that his wounded heart would forever fester under the pressure of the scars he held onto tightly. With a tremendous sigh, he opened his eyes slowly, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. Naruto looked at him, shocked. The elder Hyuuga was crying? Naruto knew it was unusual to see any emotion at all from a Hyuuga, let alone the head of the clan. What was it that the man was going to reveal to him? Part of him wanted to put up a wall to defend himself from pain, another part of him anxiously awaited the important knowledge that the man was going to share with him.
The man breathed in one last anxious breath, and started his story.
