Chapter One – A True Friend

"You do know why I called you here, don't you?"

She did not say a word, nor did she even make any kind of movement. Her head remained lowered, her eyes not meeting her homeroom teacher, her black hair hiding any kind of expression she would make.

Seeing her unresponsiveness, her teacher, Umino Iruka, softly groaned as he skimmed through the class records, searching for her name. Once he made a glance at the corresponding numbers, he softly groaned once more.

"I'll be frank with you. You're failing, Hinata."

Iruka noticed that that didn't even seem to faze her, as she still remained quiet. Some of his other students might panic, or start demanding for an explanation, or maybe even began groveling, but not her. She remained motionless, still like a statue.

He continued speaking, anyway, "Hinata, I'm aware that you're intelligent. When it comes to written tests, you often get high grades."

Putting the record book down a little forcefully as if to shock her into listening, Iruka kept speaking, "But, Hinata, this is an academy that trains Shinobi, and being good in only written tests will definitely not get you anywhere."

"I am very sorry," Hinata replied for the first time. Her tone was passive, nearly inaudible, so Iruka was not able to determine if she was being honest or not. "I will try to do better next time."

Iruka calmly examined her, trying to determine if there were any signs of tension, fatigue, or anything that could explain her apparent apathy over the situation, but he could find none.

Whatever it was, she was doing a good job of hiding it.

Putting one hand on her shoulder, he said, with a smile, "Hinata, I'm your teacher, and it's my job to look out for my students. I want to help you pass, because I know you've got the potential for it. But, you've got to let me help you. After all, you're the one making the grades not me."

She made no reply, though Iruka felt a small tremble under his hand.

"So, are there any problems? With your classmates, or at home?" Iruka asked, with honest concern.

"None, sir," she answered, her voice remaining the same.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and said, "All right, you can leave. Don't be late for the next class."

Hinata bowed deeply, turned around, and walked out of the faculty room, without saying a single word. It seemed to Iruka as if she was not there at all. He groaned again and resumed his work.

"Iruka-sensei, this is for you," a messenger said, approaching him, handing him a scroll case. He added, "Was that Hyuuga Hinata? What's the problem?"

"Thank you…and yes, she was," Iruka replied, his disappointment obvious, "I asked her to drop by to remind her that she's failing."

"Really? That's shocking to hear…I mean, she's a Hyuuga, after all, one of the elite clans of Konoha. Also, if you can remember last year, a member of the Hyuuga Branch family, Neji, was the top student in their batch," he said, pausing to scratch his head, "It's almost disconcerting to hear that a member of the Main family was failing, and to think that she's the daughter of the leader, too."

Iruka frowned at him, with a harsh voice saying, "I'm sorry, I don't care much about details like that."

Seeing Iruka suddenly get so mad, the messenger walked off, leaving him. He thought, "I can see her potential, but…it's almost as if she isn't trying it all. Is there a reason for her being like this?"

He watched as the messenger walked out of the room. "Maybe it's because of people like him," he thought, with a shrug.

Telling himself to give it more thought later, he resumed his work, opening the scroll case to read its contents. He only had a few minutes to go before the lunch break ends.

How could he understand…

Hinata sat in her usual spot in the classroom, barely making a sound; her books open before her to give everyone that image that she wanted to be left alone.

But it's all right. There's nothing to understand, anyway.

As if she could "study," with all the racket going around her. In one corner of the classroom, all the girls were ogling over Uchiha Sasuke, the class' top one student, with two of the girls, Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, fighting over who gets to sit beside him. Sasuke, however, seemed like he could not care less, and continued to look out the window.

This is as far as I can go. This is the best I can do. I might as well accept it…I guess I should've expected it.

In one corner, the usual noisy boys of the class were playing games that Hinata did not recognize. Inuzuka Kiba was giving instructions to his dog, Akamaru, about something called, "Dynamic Marking" inside the class, whatever it was. Nara Shikamaru was playing Shogi with his best friend, Akimichi Chouji, with the latter losing most of the rounds as he munched on his favorite potato chip snack. There was usually one other member here, but Hinata did not see him, whoever he was.

I could never match my cousin…even my own father thinks of me like this.

The school bell chimed, signaling the end of the lunch break. The students returned to their seats, with some of the girls still pining over going away from Sasuke.

Weak.

"All right class, settle down," Iruka ordered, as he entered the classroom.

This was…my fate.

"Okay. 'As usual we're going to begin reading our textbooks…'"

The class groaned in unison.

"…is what I'd like to say, but unfortunately," he paused to raise a plain-looking scroll, "I've been assigned on a mission, so that means…"

"ALL RIGHT, SCHOOL'S OUT!" Kiba yelled, standing up on his seat and raising his arms in utter joy. The rest of the class cheered as well, with books and scrolls flying in to the air.

"Heh, you wish, Kiba," Iruka replied, with a grin on his face, "but, calm down, people. I've still got some things to explain."

The class calmed down, though some of the students, most of them boys, could barely restraing themselves. The prospect of an early dismissal seemed to be tooo much for them. They were already giving sideward glances at the door.

Hinata did nothing, and simply waited for Iruka's announcement.

"As you may know, two weeks from now will be your Midterm examinations. For those who are doing well already, this'll be your chance to improve your class standings. For those who aren't…well, this'll be your chance to pull your grades up.

"Next week, we'll have a mock exam in order to prepare yourselves for the test, so you guys should spend the rest of this week studying. But, since I'll be away until next week, I won't be here to supervise, and I don't think there are any substitute teachers available as of now."

He cleared his throat and took another look at his class. He was glad that the students seemed to be taking this seriously, though he could see that some of them could barely restrain themselves from breaking down the door.

"So, to make up for this, I've got no choice but to assign each and every one of you study partners for the week."

The boys were particularly nonchalant about it, but the girls had to restrain themselves from shrieking their hearts out, especially Sakura and Ino. While the boys were glancing at the exit from time to time, now the girls had their eyes glued on Sasuke, who was still looking out the window, as usual.

Hinata looked around the class, scanning through her classmates, and thought, one of them was going to be her study partner for the week. She felt a little worried, not lonely because of who might he or she may be, but also, she felt insecure and even thought that she might not be of any help to her partner at all. She might even pull him or her down.

It would be better, she thought, if she worked alone.

Iruka brought out a box full of paper strips. He explained, "This is how we're going to do it. Get only one strip of paper from the box, and once everyone's done, find the person with the same number. He or she will be your partner."

Soon enough, the entire class fell into line. There were excited whispers floating about, mostly about who the partner was going to be. Some of the boys preferred to be with one of their friends, while most of the girls wanted to pair up with, who else, Sasuke, who seems like he could care less about the results.

Hinata was getting a little nervous.

"Oh yeah, since we're an odd-numbered class, sad to say, but one of you has to go at it alone" Iruka added, a little apologetically, then added, "However, you can make a three-man group, if you'd like, but no more than that. I want you guys to concentrate on this, even if it's just a mock exam."

As Hinata reached into the box on her turn, she wanted to have that lone number. She wanted to work alone; it would be for the best. She opened up the slip as she returned to her seat.

The number "9" was written.

"All right, was that everybody? Let's see…" Iruka passed as he peered into the box. After a short moment, he lifted his head back up, with a mildly confused look on his face. He asked, "Did everybody get a number? Raise your hands, those who didn't."

No one responded. Iruka frowned, and exclaimed, "That's odd. Did everybody return from lunch break?"

The students exchanged odd looks and scanned the classroom. At first glance, it did seem like every student was present, but Iruka noticed an empty seat.

"Who sits there?" Iruka wondered, and referred to the class' seat plan. I tonly took a moment before the class saw his face twist into irritation. He groaned, quite loudly, "I should've known."

And as if on cue, the classroom door slid open, and in came Shiranui Genma, one of Konoha's Jounin, towing a strange pile of ropes that were bouncing and shaking, as if something was struggling from inside.

"I think this is yours," Genma muttered, his tone nonchalant, his toothpick flicking up and down as he spoke.

"I…I believe so," Iruka groaned, his embarrassment very apparent.

"Caught him in yet another attempt to paint on the Hokage Monuments," he added, handing the end of the ropes to Iruka. He left with a curt bow, closing the door behind him.

As Iruka held on the end of the rope, he was nearly tempted to throw the pile around out of sheer frustration, but he restrained himself, counted from one to ten, and then unraveled the ropes.

And out came Uzumaki Naruto, breathing for air, with the class howling in laughter.

Hinata's face was that of sheer shock and disbelief. She was classmates with this person, and she did not know him that well, but to have a Jounin capture him just to get him back in class, it was something Hinata could not so easily comprehend. Was he really that much of a troublemaker?

"Wah! Air, at last! Thought I was gonna die there, for sure! Eh, where am I? Oh! Iruka-sensei, what's up? What're you doing with that ARGH?" Naruto couldn't complete his sentence when Iruka rammed his fist down Naruto's thick skull.

"I was so utterly convinced that I could leave this class without any regrets, without any hesitation, that I'd be able to trust you to study on your own, but you…Naruto, you…" Iruka wanted to strangle Naruto so badly.

"Eh? You're leaving class? Where are you going?"

Iruka, exasperated, replied, groaning, "Well, I wouldn't have to repeat myself if you came a little earlier! Just get a number and ask your partner, okay?"

Naruto reached into the box and pulled out the last slip of paper. Looking at it first, he handed it to Iruka. He read it, and nodded.

"All right then," Iruka announced, the class calming down as he spoke, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "The person who'll be paired with Naruto here is…"

There was a sudden hush inside the class. Most of the students had already paired up with their respective partners, and were just curious about who Naruto will get as a partner for the review week. There were already whispers floating about, like, "Man, whoever Uzumaki ends up with is definitely going to have to study twice as hard," or "Naruto'll just make things worse, that's for sure."

Naruto had to let out a sigh. His hearing wasn't that bad, and he could hear what they were saying. He hoped that his partner would come from his very small group of friends, but he could already see Shikamaru and Chouji seated together, and Kiba was already talking with one of his classmates, a quiet kid who wore black-tinted shades all the time. It seemed evident that they already had partners.

He had gotten used to this, however; the hushed insults behind his back, the harsh looks people would give him. He had been living with this ever since he was very young, and he did not even know why. Most of the grownups would say bad things; take their children away from him if they got too close. He lived with this for nearly all his life, and even though he said that he had gotten used to this, this did not mean that it no longer hurt. He would keep on smiling; he would try keeping a jovial disposition, just to hide the hurt.

Even now, he wore a grin to mask whatever pain he felt. He silently wished that this be over soon; his classmates' remarks were not stopping.

However, two students in the class were not saying anything, and kept quiet. These were the remaining students who have yet to be paired, and both wished that it stayed that way.

Yet both of them could not deny that Naruto apparently was taking this all in stride, despite the comments and remarks spoken in murmurs in the class. They were already becoming quite loud, and Naruto could probably hear them quite well. Still, he kept on grinning, trying to put on a façade that he was not bothered by this at all. To small extent, they admired him for that.

"Number 9! Who got number 9?" Iruka announced, waving the slip around.

It took quite a while for Iruka to notice that there was a slowly raising, trembling hand at the far back of the class room. Iruka recognized who the hand belonged to, and, took a look at Naruto once again. The boy was still smiling, and looking at his soon-to-be partner once again, he made a secret smile, thinking that this could be a good experience for them both.

"Hyuuga Hinata will be partnered with Naruto. So who's going to work alone….ah, Sasuke? Would you like to join another group?" Iruka asked Sasuke, who just shook his head, despite violent objections from the female part of the class.

"Very well then! I expect you all to do well in the mock exams, so study hard and work hard to pull those grades up! That is all, you're dismissed!" Iruka exclaimed, and closed today's session.

Outside the classroom, in the corridors of the academy, Naruto faced Hinata for their first ever conversation.

"So…ahh, so I guess I should introduce myself…"

Naruto, being only 13 years old, never had much experience when it came to girls. Sure, he had a crush on his fellow classmate, Haruno Sakura, but he never really had any experience talking with her to have a decent conversation with Hinata.

"I'm, ahh…" Naruto felt quite stupid.

"Uzumaki Naruto-san," Hinata finished for him, her voice a little monotonous.

"Oh y-yeah, heh, that's me!" Naruto said, a little nervously, scratching his head, "But…'-san'?"

"I'm sorry," Hinata replied, "But this is the first time we ever talked, and I don't really know you that well…"

"Ah, don't mind it, I'm okay with that," Naruto quickly interjected, "So, Hyuuga Hinata, right? Nice to meet you."

He made a little bow, which Hinata returned with a much deeper one. The display of politeness obviously startled him.

"Y-you don't have to be so formal around me," Naruto said, quickly looking around to see if anyone noticed, "So, uh, what do you want to do?"

"Let's go to the library," Hinata replied, moments later, her voice soft, "Maybe it's a good idea to start early." Not wanting to make a bad impression on their first day together, Naruto agreed, and the pair walked along the corridor.

Hinata's head was lowered as she walked, her eyes seemingly fixed on her feet, so Naruto took the chance to get a good look at her, to size her up.

It immediately hit Naruto that Hinata here was not very much like the other girls in his class. Nearly most of the girls were vibrant, outgoing, outspoken, but not Hinata, who apparently kept her distance and kept quiet. Naruto knew from hearsay that Hinata came from a rich family, rather, a powerful clan, and expected her to be a little more aggressive or assertive, to be the taking-control type, but Hinata seemed reserved, maybe even submissive.

Hinata was clearly not like most girls he knew or met.

Then again, Naruto thought, he wasn't like most boys either.

"Say, Hinata…Hinata?" She wasn't at his side anymore. When he looked back, he had already left her behind a few steps back. Coming up to her, he was going to ask, "What's up?" when he froze, seeing her face.

Fear.

Her pure-white eyes, the trademark of her clan, were wide, her hands trembling, her feet fixed upon where she stood. It took her several shakes from Naruto to snap her out of her reverie.

"Hinata! What's going on?"

"I…I'm sorry, Uzumaki-san…" Hinata said, and Naruto could her voice was shaking.

"What's wrong? What did you see?" And Naruto turned.

There was a boy a few meters away from where they stood, speaking with one of the faculty about something. He had long black hair, and wore a white jacket, and black shorts. Naruto could see that he shared the same eyes as Hinata.

"Who's that? Is that a relative of yours?" Naruto asked.

"I-I'm sorry, but can we take another route? I…" Hinata's voice was still trembling.

"I don't mind, but it'll take longer…hey!" Naruto shouted after Hinata, who immediately backtracked and ran off, turning at the next corridor and disappearing from sight. "What is wrong?" he asked to himself, scratching his head.

He took a look at the boy again, and he gasped, his heart probably skipping a beat.

The teacher was gone, and Neji was looking at where Hinata was a moment ago, and in his eyes, Naruto could feel so much hatred coming from them. A harsh gaze was fixed on that spot, and he could even see his fists tightening. His face nearly reverted back to normal when the teacher returned with some documents that he probably requested.

Naruto could only wonder what could be the problem between the two. With no real reason to remain, Naruto sped and followed Hinata.

"I…I'm sorry," Hinata mumbled, a book propped in front of her face.

"Hm?" Naruto replied, half-hearing her as he tried to understand the scroll he was reading.

"I'm sorry," Hinata repeated, a little louder this time, but still keeping it in check. They were inside the library now, and they had been looking though reference books and scrolls, reading up and taking notes. It had been hours since that incident and neither of the two spoke a word until now.

"Sorry for what?" Naruto asked in reply, his voice a little too loud.

He knew she said something, but her voice was so soft, Naruto could barely hear her. He said, rather loudly, "What? Speak up, would you?"

The librarian, a stern-looking old woman, shushed them, and Naruto just scratched his head and with a smile, just bowed his head apologetically in the librarian's direction.

"I'm sorry…for what happened earlier, when I just ran off," Hinata replied, finally at a volume Naruto could hear.

He just shrugged and said, "All right."

Several quiet moments later, Hinata said something, but Naruto, despite his best efforts to strain his ears, could not hear what she just said.

"What?" Naruto asked, his voice low as to not attract the librarian's attention.

"A…aren't you mad at me?" Hinata asked, her voice still soft, but thankfully audible.

"No, not really," Naruto replied, shrugging again.

"…I'm sorry," she repeated, and went back to reading her book.

Edging slightly, peeking from the side from book, he took a look at Hinata once again. It appeared to him, on first glance, that she was still feeling a little awful for what happened earlier. She seemed restless, reading and rereading the same page of the book, trying to concentrate but to no avail. It seemed to Naruto that she was just trying to hide whatever she was feeling.

Hinata, on the other hand, WAS feeling awful. Her hands, though not the same as before, was still clammy, and trembled as she attempted to read. She felt angry at herself, disappointed, sad, afraid; so many emotions were swirling inside her that she could barely contain them.

To say that she was afraid of Hyuuga Neji, her cousin, was an understatement. The boy had so much hatred towards her, towards her family, maybe even towards the entire clan that she could feel it pouring out of him even from far away. She did not even know why he was so angry, but could only wonder what the clan could have done to deserve such hatred from him. His enmity was that intense, and Hyuuga Neji was one to be feared.

It wasn't only due to his hatred towards the clan that she should be feared, it was also due to his awesome skills. Despite being a member of the Branch family, a part of the Hyuuga Clan whose role was to be subservient towards to the Head family, his skills far surpassed those of any other member of the clan, and it was to her shame, and even that of her family, that he was greater than Hinata. The pressure on her was unrelenting, since she was to be the eldest daughter of the Hyuuga Clan's leader, Hyuuga Hiashi, and to be outdone by a mere Branch member was, for them, the worst kind of embarrassment. She tried to keep up, she tried to become stronger, but it proved to be impossible for her, and even before she did, her own father had already given up on her, and had already begun seeking promise with her younger sister, Hanabi. This was another blow to her, since her own younger sister, barely seven years old, was already said to be stronger than her.

It was too much for her, too much for her to handle, to comprehend, to keep up with. She was only twelve years old, and it already seemed like her fate was already decided for her. She could not look at her own cousin, and now, much less at her own father, whose disappointment towards her was so evident that Hinata could not stand being in the same room as him, could not stand being with him, lest she suffer ruthless criticisms from him.

She wanted to cry…but even that was a sign of weakness that she could not afford.

She just wanted someone to talk to about all this…

Hinata was so deep into her thoughts that she didn't notice someone poking at her. Lifting her head away from the book (it was no use, all she saw were jumbled letters, not words), she looked at Naruto, who was the one poking, and replied, quite weakly, "What is it?"

Her breath must have stopped. She dropped the book she was reading on the table quite loudly. She was frozen, her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly agape.

"U-Uzumaki…san?"

"Yo!"

Naruto had somehow stuck four pencils into both his ears and into his nostrils, and looked dead serious.

"I'm sorry, but do I have something on my face?" Naruto asked, in an oddly serious tone.

Hinata was, for the lack of a better word, speechless.

Naruto was beginning to sweat. This was, by any means, comfortable, and the eraser was starting to itch, but this had to work…

Hinata was still at a loss of words.

Naruto thought that he inhaled the whole eraser into his nose by now, and still no reaction. Come on…

Hinata then began to bite her lip and it seemed like she was squirming. A glimmer of hope suddenly appearing in Naruto, and became so excited that as he breathed out, both pencils flung out of their respective nostrils.

Then finally, Hinata burst out laughing, her hearty laugh filling the library's silent atmosphere. She just laughed and laughed, grasping her stomach as it began to hurt. Her laugh was so pleasant to the ears, even the normally stern librarian couldn't bear to reprimand her for being so loud. Naruto just smiled as she continued, thinking, that even if he did probably inhale that eraser and was already probably floating in one of his lungs, this made it all worth it.

After a few minutes, Hinata began to calm down, still giggling occasionally. Naruto said, "That's better."

"What is?" Hinata replied, still trying to control herself and still trying to get the image off her mind.

"You, laughing. I mean, you were so gloomy a while ago, that, well…I guess it made me sort of sad, too. Now, you're laughing, and I'm happy for you," Naruto replied, simply, with a big grin.

Yet again, Hinata was speechless. She was, to say the least, not used to receiving acts of kindness like this, yet this boy, who she had known for only several hours, was already trying to make her laugh, and was already trying to make her happy.

"Th-thank you very much…I don't know what to say…" Hinata replied, mumbling. Her cheeks were feeling hot for some reason, she wasn't sure why.

"Well, for starters, you can start being less formal with me. Drop the Uzumaki-san, thing, okay? It gives me the creeps," he said, grinning.

"W-what? But…" Hinata was taken aback. All she was doing was being polite, and after all, she didn't know him that well to be on a…first-name basis, she thought.

"Hinata…" Naruto called her by her first name, startling her a little, "We'll be working together for a week now, and first things first, I think we gotta get used to each other. So, I'll call you Hinata, okay? No Hyuuga-sama or Hinata-sama or Hime-sama or anything weird like that."

"A…all right," Hinata replied, who was starting to like the idea. Still, she was really not used to being this…less-restricted.

"What'll you call me, then?"

"N-N…Naruto…" Hinata paused, thinking if it was okay to call him by that. That would be a little too affectionate, she thought, and, again, she didn't really know him that well.

"Naruto it is, then," Naruto finished, grinning widely.

But, looking at him one more time, seeing him offering her a smile that no one else had given her, encouraging her when everyone else seemed to just put her down, she thought, maybe it would be okay, as long as it was him.

"N…Naruto-kun."

"Naruto-kun it is, then," Naruto repeated, still grinning widely. Hinata's heart leapt a little; she was glad that he didn't reject. "Let's be good friends, okay?" Naruto asked.

"A-all right," Hinata responded, smiling.

He then said, "Well, let's go home for now, it's getting late."

"All right," Hinata replied, then packing up their things and saying goodbye to the librarian, they left the library, then later on, walking alongside each other in what Hinata thought was comfortable silence, they reached the gate of the school. Outside, it was already late afternoon, and the sun had already began to set, bathing Konoha in a beautiful orange. There were only a few people around, some of them students who're also leaving the same time as Naruto and Hinata, and some of them were waiting for students to retrieve and send home.

"This is where we part ways, then," Naruto said.

"Okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, saying the name once again. It had a pleasant ring to it, she thought.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Naruto asked.

"Ah…well, I haven't really thought about -- " Hinata was cut off when a man appeared behind her. He was dressed in white robes, and he wore his black hair long and tied in a simple ponytail. His eyes were pure white, telling Naruto that, like Hinata, this was a member of the Hyuuga Clan as well.

"Hideyo-san, what're you…" Before Hinata could even finish her sentence, she was roughly pulled away from Naruto. She was struggling, but could do nothing against his strength. Before Naruto could do anything, he said, loudly, "Stay away from her! How dare you come near Hinata-sama?"

And with that, Naruto lowered his hand, sighed, turned around and left. He clenched his fists, but did not raise his voice, or fight back, in any way. He thought, bitterly, I've gotten used to this…I have…

"Hideyo-san…how could you?" Hinata asked, aghast as she finally broke free from his grasp. Hideyo was one of her family's manservants, and was probably ordered to take her home once school had ended.

"With all due respect, I should ask you that question, Hinata-sama! What're you doing, fraternizing with that boy? Do you not listen to your father's warnings?" Hideyo growled, making Hinata cringe a little.

"I…I know, but…" She did know about the rumors about him, but looking at him, he seemed harmless, much less a monster or a demon, unlike the rumors perceived him to be.

"Listen, please. That boy is nothing but a curse, and as the heir of the leadership of the clan, you would do well to stop socializing with such a…such a person!"

"B-but…" Then Hinata explained the situation with the study week and Iruka leaving. Hideyo was nothing but pleased about the news.

"Detestable!" Hideyo grunted, "In place of your father, who is away on a meeting with the elders as of the moment, I shall ask the Hokage himself to have you switch partners. It will not do well for your status to be associated with that boy."

"B-but…"

"No objections, Hinata-sama! Come, let us proceed quickly back to your home."

Feeling helpless, and feeling very sorry for Naruto, who she could still walking away, his back slouched, his pace slow, Hinata had no choice but to be taken away, and only hope that Hideyo would not succeed in what he had planned.

After all, she had a friend in him, despite what people say.

And with all her heart, she did not wish it to end so quickly.

"And, what happened next? Did Hideyo-san really do it?" Hanabi asked, agitated, listening quite intently to her elder sister's story.

Hinata smiled, and replied, "Indeed he did, but it seemed like the late Hokage-sama already had his mind set on, and even approved of the study week plan of Iruka-sensei's, so he had no choice but to accept his decision. Of course, I was happy that I could still meet with Naruto-kun, despite what happened."

"No wonder I always thought Hideyo-san was so stuck-up," Hanabi groaned, making Hinata giggle.

"Well, it's getting late, you should be getting to bed," Hinata asked of her, looking outsider her window and seeing the moon already high up in the sky. She did not notice how fast time had flown while she was telling her sister her story.

"Aww, c'mon! Can you at least tell me what happened the next day?" Hanabi pleaded.

Hinata smiled, and ran her fingers through Hanabi's hair. "I'll tell you tomorrow, okay? Go on, off to bed. You have a class tomorrow."

Hanabi, feeling a little disgruntled, approached the door, but quickly turned around and said, "Promise! You better promise that you will, okay?"

Hinata just smiled and said, "All right, I promise! Now scoot!"

Hanabi just smiled happily and skipped off to bed, leaving Hinata to her thoughts. Finally alone, she closed the door to her room, dressed in her sleeping clothes, turned off the lights, and tucked herself neatly in her futon.

Before she fell asleep, she held her picture of Naruto up close to her face. She still remembered how those pencils looked like, and it always made Hinata laugh.

It seemed so long ago, but I still can remember every detail…I wonder if you remember it too, she thought.

Good night, Naruto-kun..,

Then, daring herself, she placed a kiss on the glass surface of the picture frame, placed it back on her table, then went on to sleep, dreaming peaceful dreams.

In another place, far from Konoha, Naruto sneezed.

"Oh ho!" Jiraiya remarked, munching on his fried fish cooked on an open campfire, "Someone's talking about you!"

"I'll say," Naruto muttered, as he wiped his nose, and he was about to put away the handkerchief he used, something fell out of its folds. Reaching down, he picked it up.

It was an eraser, from the tip of a pencil.

"Now that's just filthy," Jiraiya muttered, his face twisted in obvious disgust.

"Heh, this brings back memories, lemme tell ya about it, Ero-sennin…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Next, Chapter Two– THE SECOND DAY

Author's Note

Well, I'm back, and I'm going to apologize yet AGAIN, for taking sooo long to update this thing. I mean, it's in my notebook, it's in my brain, it's in my dreams, but, alas, I never really have any time nowadays to write. This is one of the rare days that I get to spend so much time in front of a computer without being berated by my parents, so I guess I should be thankful that, as well as FINALLY being able to add the first chapter.

So, I'm sorry for any trouble the delay caused. Heh. ;;

As for the next chapter…well, I won't lie to you. It might take a long time again. I've got third-year college to deal with, as well as an internship to pass, so bear with me and I hope you can wait it out until the next update.

Also, thanks to the readers who're putting this story, as well as "A Minute With You" on any of their Alerts. It means a lot that you're still reading this, and I can hope that I bring the next chapter as quickly as I can, without reducing any of the Naruto x Hinata goodness. XD

Anyway, 'til next time! Thanks for reading!