Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, and I'm glad I don't, otherwise I would be the result of the terrible fillers that are playing on TV right now, and all of you would kill me…
Summary: October 13th has never been kind to Naruto. But what if this time he gets a gift he will never forget, and finds out that miracles aren't always what one expects them to be.
AU (alternate Universe) there will be OoC through the story on some characters.
"Denotes speech"
'Denotes thought'
Shift in Time or Seen
Flash Back
Miracle
What was the typical quiet and dreamcast night of Konoha, where many had already departed from reality to their own fantasy filled worlds, had for many souls become a night of difficult situations and mental unrest. The first soul, a mere twelve year old blonde headed boy, stood happily despite nearly losing his life to a traitor whom had exploited what had now become his deepest secret. The Kyuubi, who Naruto had met several times in cold and harsh nightmares, dwelled inside of him; and despite this knowledge, Naruto felt at rest knowing now that there was a much deeper meaning to himself than just an abandoned orphan with no home and that no one wanted. Conversely, however, he began to feel true fear of the horrific beast that had threatened him time and again and had been the source of many sleepless nights.
Naruto now stood over the bloody, broken body of a conscious Mizuki. He looked at the man sadly, but not with pity. The look in the traitor's eyes spoke colors to Naruto and he knew Mizuki was a beaten man; not only in his mind and body, but in his spirit. Years of feeling the same dissapointment and pain had screamed this at Naruto and he knew there would be nothing left for Mizuki but the clothes on his back and the disrespect from the villagers. His honor had been stripped away with no way to recover it and unless he had enough drive in him to fix his life, or atleast persue his goal, nothing would change, and Mizuki would live the rest of his life locked up in Konoha's prison cells breaking rocks and digging ditches.
Iruka had awoken just in time to see the last bit of commotion and on the grounds of having not only created a Jounin level Kage Bunshin, defeated a Chunin level ninja, but also using a jutsu he had never seen or much less even heard of, Iruka decided to pass Naruto with out the consent of either the other teachers or the school board. He knew it was a decision that could and possibly would get him fired, but the man felt that Naruto had proven his aptitude as a ninja far much more than any student had on the test that morning. He motioned for Naruto to walk to him, told the boy to close his eyes, and then tied his own headband around Narutos forehead. He promised Naruto a newer headband when he got the chance, but told him that that one would have to suffice for the moment. He then told him to go home so he could rest and make it to the team selection class the next morning.
All of this, as important as it was to Naruto, was only second to his interest; for he knew that there was one other person whom had not had a difficult fight, a near death experience, or discovered an incredible secret about herself. She had, however, had to indure a broken promise. Perhaps she was the most troubled soul of them all and upon arriving to his home, this notion was confirmed to Naruto who stopped just to look and frown. Admist the blood on his shirt, the headband around his neck, and the burns on his hands, only one thing mattered and she was here, alone, left to wonder if she had been orphaned again. A feeling Naruto knew all to well and a feeling he never wanted her to have again.
Kiseki had a fallen asleep right next to the door and Naruto silently reprimended the girl for not even covering herself against the cold chills that flowed through his old weathered down apartment door. ´Atleast a blanket,´ he sighed, before picking her up, only to be suprised when she hugged him tight and muttered out the word "Onii-chan". What was once a small frown on her face turned into a slight smile and Naruto was happy that she seemed to be sleeping peacefully once again. He carried her to his room, placed her in his bed, and covered up with a warm blanket. Depending on how long she had been sleeping at the door, he was almost certain that she would wake up with a cold in the morning and that he would be the one to blame the cause on. Atleast he had some medicine stored away in the cases of sickness. Naruto, and he was now sure that it was because the Kyuubi, had rarely ever gotten sick, and if he did, the symptons only lasted for a day and sometimes not even that.
After checking on Kiseki one last time, Naruto left to clean himself. He threw his clothes on the ground and sighed when he saw all the tears and holes in his clothes. His jacket was pretty much useless now and his pants were ripped on both sides of the knees and had gash across the zipper. His black shirt, however, was still in tact and he was relatively relieved that he wouldn't have to buy a new one of those either. He had already spent alot of money providing Kiseki with clothes and food and he was starting to find it increasingly difficult to find the money to pay the months rent, electrical bill, and water bill. He secretly hoped that the Genin pay he would start recieving the next month would be enough to cover the all the expenses. If not he still had one thing of value.
Naruto didn't want to buy more clothes, but it seemed like he had no other option to do so. And with his current fundings, he would have to ask the old man for some help. He knew he couldn't afford anything himself; but hopefully, if he was lucky, the Hokage would help him get atleast something decent to wear. If all things went well in his starting Genin career, perhaps later he would have Kiseki pick some clothes out for him, he needed something new and refreshing anyway. Naruto would never tell any body, but he was getting tired of the clothes he wore now, even though they had served their purpose over the last few years. He knew one thing though; he wouldn't ever sell that to pay his bills. That being the necklace Kiseki had shown interest the other day, the necklace he wore now.
Naruto removed the beautifulnecklace and peered at it for a moment, becoming a bit entranced with its mystical shine. The different reflections created a dancing color of light in Naruto's eyes. The hokage had told him that Naruto had been found with the necklace when he was just born and that it was a probability that his mother had given it to him just before she had died. Since he had learned this as a child the item quickly became one of Naruto's most prized posessions; especially since it was the only object Naruto had that was in some way connected to his parents. Naruto wasn't sure how, but he hoped that one day he could use the necklace to find his parents, or atleast, figure out more about them. He gripped the necklace tight before carefulling hanging it on a nail that was above the towl rack.
Naruto hoped jumped into the shower and after finishing quickly, he grabbed the torn clothes and threw them in the dumpster. He decided it was way to late, or early, to do anything with the bloodied shirt and in stead of going through all the trouble of washing it, he just put on a pair of his boxers, the shirt kiseki had used the day before, and the same old shorts he had given her to sleep in the day she arrived. He gave a quick chuckle at the fact that he would have to where the same clothes in the morning and after laughing at himself, jumped into bed and faded to his own dream world. He was sure he would have a happy dream tonight, for it was just one event that he could add to his small list of happy memories.
"Onii-chan!"
"Eh! Wha..." Naruto jumped about a mile after hearing Kiseki's loud scream and then shirked when she put him in a death hug. He rubbed his eyes drousily and after getting the blurr out of his vision, he was able to pry the little girl of him. She looked up at him with teary eyes and a small frown on her face.
"I... I thought you had left me." She spoke quietly. Naruto looked her in the eyes and smiled brightly at the girl, before putting his hand on her shoulders.
"I'm not like the others," He said, "I won't leave you, I promise."
"You promised me that yesterday," She pouted.
"Hey I'm here right, aren't I! This time, it's a real promise!" He chuckled, giving her two thumbs up and a painstackingly large smile. Her frown dissapeared and she began to giggle along with Naruto.
He took her hand and lifted her off the bed; he pointed her to the shower making sure that this time she knew how to turn on the cold water. Naruto then went to the kitchen and took a couple of bowls and a box of cereal, which he had bought during yesterday's shopping cherade, out of the cupboard. He still had a fresh carton of milk in his small fridge, the carton containing just enough to last him untill he could get them some more. The other jug of milk had been spoiled and Naruto just dumped out in the sink.
When Kiseki came back, fully dressed in the new clothing she had picked out the other day, Naruto offered her one of the bowls which she accepted whole-heartedly.
Naruto was hesitant, but he realized that he would have to tell her that he was going to school for a couple of hours and that she would have to wait her. As he thought, she began to put up quite a ruckus about staying with him and finally he told her that she could come with him to school. His one condition was that she would have to hide outside. When she argued this Naruto explained that if they found her with him they would probably ship her back to the opharnage and that niether of the two wanted that to happen. Those reasons seemed to satisfy her and she agreed that she would hide, but...
"I have to be able to see you!" she said.
Naruto slapped his forehead.
"Fine, I happen to know the perfect place," He said.
Despite the rukus, deep down Naruto and Kiseki both were happy and niether minded the conditions that were set upon them, they new that it was for the best. Besides, with her in view, Naruto could watch her and make sure that nothing would happen to her. He was confident that he could beat any kidnappers, especially with his new found abilities. Although he would rather have it kept as a trump card and only use it as necesarry (for it would just be stupid to reveal the technique to everyone in just one setting), he felt that Kiseki would be a more than acceptable reason to use the jutsu and that he would rather have her alive than some stupid jutsu kept a secret. He decided that he could use Kage Bunshin as a, "Haha, look at me," supriser instead.
After eating, Naruto took his black shirt, washed it, and hung it up to dry before motioning for Kiseki to get ready to go. He told her to get her jacket and she ran to the room to do so. When she got back he took it and fastened it, making sure that it was on her tight so that she would stay worm.
"Does it feel comfortable?" He asked, recieving a quick nod from Kiseki who was busy tediously brushing off any dust that had gotten on the jacket. She paused for a moment and briefly looked up to where he stood and with a determined frown tugged at his shirt.
"You will be cold."
He peeked down at what he was wearing and scratched his head, "Uhh... I don't get cold that easily," He said. She looked at him in disbelief; she really didn't buy that for second.
All though it was only a half-truth, Naruto was sure that he could handle a couple hours of cold weather. He had no worries about getting sick and if things got too bad he would just go ahead and spend the money for a new jacket. However, since he would be inside most of the time, he insisted to himself that it wouldn't matter anyway. Kiseki would be the one out side for the while, so as long as she was clothed enough to stay warm outside, then everything would work out.
He took her hand before walking out side and locking the door to his apartment. School started at nine so he left with plenty of time to spare so that he wouldn't be late for the team selection class like he had been for the Genin exam. If they went fast enough, he could also get Kiseki into her "hiding spot" before anyone spotted him helping her and thinking that he was doing something bad or mischevious.
Naruto bent down and motioned for Kiseki to get on his back. It would be faster to jump across roof tops than walking down the crowded streets. It would also avoid any unnecessary confrontations, which Naruto knew would happen had he taken the roads. The way to the academy was straight through the shopping districts and no matter how hard he tried to stay out of trouble some kind of fight, whether between drunks and villagers or something involving him, always started. Naruto loathed too think about what they would do to him down there, especially with a little girl riding on his back. They might think he was kidnapping her or something. 'Best avoid that situation' he thought.
It was only about twenty minutes later that they arrived at the school. Kiseki got off of Naruto's back and after a few minutes of peeking around, he took her to the old swing that rested in the school yard. Being an evergreen tree, it had enough leaves to obscure the girl from view and it pointed directly to the window that was next to Naruto's row. The people who sat next to him didn't usually peer out the window anyway. Hinata didn't talk much, so Naruto doubted that she would say anything if she saw Kiseki and Kiba's view would be obstructed by he and Hinata. None of the teachers could see the tree and unless the girl somehow miracly inhibited large amounts of chakra at her age, then she wouldn't be sensed either.
Naruto helped Kiseki up the tree and told her the class would a take couple of hours. He had no idea why this was, but the class was well worth it since a team was involved and it was his next step to becoming Hokage. He asked Kiseki if she would be alright up there and when the girl responded he gave her a thumbs up and left to his classroom. He had seen no one there as he entered and pressumed his plan had worked. He walked up to the seat next to the window, waved at Kiseki, and then sat to wait. Class would start in fifteen minutes.
Kakashi, along with old man Sarutobi, sat at the small table in Naruto's kitchen. Both eyed the two dirty bowls that lay next to each other on the table and while Sarutobi had a mischivious grin etched on his face, Kakashi was less than amused.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Kakashi spoke, eyeing the folder in front of him, "I was under the impression that he was orphaned," He said, "I didn't know you had someone taking care of him."
"Hmmm...?"
"What? He's not alone, obviously."
"You can't judge a book by it's cover Kakashi, you of all people should know that." Sarutobi said, briefly picking up the two bowls and taking them the sink. He turned on some water, added some soap, and patiently washed the two bowls. "Naruto takes good care of himself, I would say."
"I would have never guessed."
"I think there is alot more to Uzumaki Naruto than you give credit."
"Credit will be given where credit is due, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, opening up his issue of the "Icha Icha Paradise" series. He scrolled through the pages and giggled a bit before getting serious again, "We'll see what kind of impression he gives during my trial exam."
"Don't get cocky Kakashi, he just might suprise you."
The old man turned on some water to rinse the soapy dishes.
"The Uchiha brat, a lovestruck little girl, and the source of all of Konoha's hate. I can't catch a break eh?" Kakashi sighed, pushing his chair back underneath the table, "What an annoying team."
The Hokage Chuckled, "If I recall, your team was about the same make up, was it not, Kakashi?" He said drying his hands off with the towl that sat by the sink, "You are best suited to bring about the most of their potential, individually and as a team."
"Teaching was never a talent of mine."
The Hokage took a glass from the cupboard and sat it on a table. He then took substantial amount of money and placed under the cup. "I could change it; but, you might regret it more."
"To who?"
"Replace the Haruno girl with the Hyuuga heir."
"A Hyuuga, an Uchiha, and the Uzumaki kid, that might be an interesting one."
"I won't be lying when I tell you that she might be more difficult than the Haruno." The Hokage said, pulling out the folders containing information on Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata.
"According to her profile, the Haruno has above average chakra control and an apparent nack for genjutsu, someone who could develop well under Kurenai." Kakashi said grabbing Hinata's profile while reading the other.
"Yes, yes, she was my first choice for the girl; but, she also seemed to fit in well with the Uchiha, someone to soften him up."
"Oh, but what about the Uzumaki boy?"
"Unfortunately, he would accept friendship from anyone. All though I believe the Hyuuga would be a better suit for him."
"So why choose someone that would benefit the Uchiha more than the Uzumaki kid?"
"It's better for the village." The Hokage said, taking Uchiha Sasuke's folder from the older man and pulling out a certain page. "He's mentally unstable and with out proper direction, he could become a threat to Konoha in the future."
He handed the sheet of paper to Kakashi. On it was written the perscription of some drugs for depression, insomnia, and other mental disorders that had result from the massacre six years ago. Kakashi grimaced at seeing all the treatment the boy had recieved only a couple of years ago. The Hokage was right, the Uchiha needed a distraction. A friend, a rival, and someone who had grown up the same way Sasuke had. It seemed that, Sakura and Naruto were spot on for the job. However, he realized that putting the Haruno with the Uchiha would result in much slower advancement for the girl. He wasn't great for genjutsu and the girl would just focus all of her attention on the raven haired boy. Atleast with the other girl each would have a fair and balanced training program.
"Putting her with the Uchiha will just slow down her own development. Her crush won't distract her if he's not near her."
"Well it's up to you, Kakashi. I trust your judgement."
"We best be going to the academy, Hokage-sama, don't want to be late, now do we?"
"Me late, I laugh at the thought; it's you I am worried about."
Kakashi took one more look at the students before opening the small window in Naruto kitchen. He jumped outside with the Hokage and before any one could blink, the two had vanished.
Kiseki eyed Naruto's row sharply. The students had started to crowd the school about ten minutes ago and she tried her best to stay quiet and still, especially when the adults walked by. She prayed that she wouldn't get caught and for a moment she began to wonder if going with him had been a bad idea after all. However, she trusted him and was confident that if anything happened, he would be there to help her. He already had been once.
"What are you doing here?" Kiba barked at Naruto, "I thought you failed."
"They, uh, gave me a make up exam, and I passed it."
"The dead beat loser!"
"Whatever Dog face!"
"Fox head!"
"K-Kiba!" Hinata broke off the piercing glares that both boys were giving each other.
"What! Why do you alway defend him?" Kiba said crossing his arms and nodding his head when his puppy Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Co- Congratulations on passing... Naruto-kun," Hinata stammered; her cheeks turning redder each passing second.
"Uh, thanks Hinata!" He said, giving her a genuine smile. The girl sitting by Shino gave a smile and waved at him as well. She was one person who was actually nice to him in class and Naruto wondered if he should invite her to dinner to celebrate later. Perhaps she would accept, unlike Sakura had the countless other times.
A loud bell rang startling Kiseki and almost making her fall out of the tree; however, with some quick thinking she gripped the branches tighter and was able hold on. Naruto had seen everything and almost jumped out the window until he saw her grab the branch. She noticed him sigh a breath of relief before motioning for her to go up higher in the tree. Naruto quickly scanned the room from side to side to make sure no one had seen the small display that happened outside. Iruka found his uneasiness a bit odd, but decided to leave alone since class had just started.
"N-Naruto-kun?"
"I-It's nothing, ehehe..." Naruto responded, scratching the back of head.
Iruka quickly silenced all the rukus going on in the classroom. After an earpiercing scream and a couple peices of thrown chalk, everyone was finally facing his direction and put their attention into his words.
"Well obviously for many of you, this will be the last class you will be attending at this academy. All of us teachers would like to congratulate you all for being one of the most successful classes in recent history. It is the first time in 10 years that every student has managed to graduate and we can certainly say that each and everyone of you worked very hard to attain this honor." Iruka proceeded to clap and eventually the whole class was giving each other a hand.
"As customary of the academy, each year before the students are placed on their teams, an award is handed out to the most oustanding rookie of the class. This year had some incredible competition, with strong showing from Aburame Shino, Haro Kumiko, and Uchiha Sasuke. This is based on individual porformances in all areas of the curriculum: on the field training, off the field training, theory, and practical examination, these students made it to the top of their class."
"Tch, no doubt Mr. Perfect Uchiha over there won it," Kiba whispered silently to Hinata, who just nodded in aggreement.
"All three of these students finished within one point of each other, so each should be shown alot of respect!" Iruka said a bit too excitedly in the student's points of view. "Please give a large round of applause to Uchiha Sasuke, who is the Rookie of the Year!"
Alot of forced applause among the guys and deafening cheers from the girls caused Sasuke to smirk a bit and when he recieved the award he gave a look of superiority to the other two in competition with him. Kumiko glared at the boy and then whispered a plan of assassination into Shino's ear causing him to nod and then tell her to ignore him instead. Naruto just put an invisible kunai to his head and acted out a suicide attempt. She laughed at that.
"Alright, now for what you guys have patiently been waiting for." Iruka said.
Naruto looked out the window to check on Kiseki. She imitated his thumbs up and quickly grabbed the large branch she was on again.
"I will list three names per team. Each of you called will wait for your Jounin-sensei in this room or where ever instructed otherwise." Several of the students to a deep breath of excitment, itching to hear their names called.
Outside Naruto saw the many faces of the jounin who might have been his next instructor. Infront front of them walked the Hokage proudly and Naruto gasped when he saw the man look up towards the tree where Kiseki hid. To his relief, however, the Hokage turned his head back around. He looked up at Naruto and waved causing the boy to snap his head back towards his teacher, the man outside just chuckled and walked into the academy.
"Team 3: Miyamoto Mai, Katamori Renji, and Dioudoji Ken. Please meet your Jounin-sensei in room 107b." The three students got up and left.
Teams four, five, and six, where announced rather quickly, and the number of students left in the room began to diminish signficantly. Iruka was about to call out the next team but was interupted when the Hokage came in. He and Iruka went off to the side and after exchanging some papers. The Hokage seemed to tell Iruka whatever was going on and what he should do. Naruto guessed it had something to do with the teams, but he wasn't sure. After a few minutes many of the students were beggining to get impatient, especially Kiba who just yelled "THIS IS CRAP!" at one point. Iruka just ignored them nonchallantly and listened to the Hokage's words. He seemed to nod his head at some words and frown at others. The Hokage knew best however and after the Hokage bowed and walked away, Iruka went back to the front.
"All right guys, sorry for that small interuption. Team 7 consisting of," Iruka peeked down at the list; this team would be pure hell for whoever got them, "Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto jumped up like crazy person and in his excitment yelled "That's me." Iruka threw a piece of chalk to his head effectivily shutting him up.
Hinata had begun to chant 'Pick me, pick me, pick me' in her head.
"Hyuuga Hinata," He said, with Hinata effectively repeating the same event that happened with Naruto in her mind, "And Uchiha Sasuke!"
"NOOO!" Four students shouted at the same time. Ino and Sakura were pissed and they started a harsh verible attack on Sasuke's two new teammates. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and sat quietly. He didn't need teammates anyway, it was just a small stumbling block in the way. He had had much worse and the dobe and the girl weren't going to get in his way.
"AHEM!" Iruka couged, catching their attention, "As I was saying, please meet you Jounin-sensei in room 104a."
The the respective students left for the room.
Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke sat waiting for their sensei. All three were getting impatient and after the second hour of waiting, Naruto got up and walked to the door.
"I'll be right back; I got to check on something." He said hurriedly, sparking Hinata's interest.
She peered at the boy questioningly. As much as she wanted to wait for their new sensei, she had to admit that even she was getting bored that she would rather do something productive than sit in a classroom and wait. She thought for a second and gathered up her own courage, "M-may I go with you?"
"That probably wouldn't be the best idea."
"Oh..." She said a bit dissapointed. She had hope to take walk with the boy to wherever he was going so that she could get to know him better, or visa versa.
"I... Well, it's just probably... It's a secret sorry."
Even Sasuke was getting intersted now and though he didn't show it, he wanted to know what was going on with Naruto.
"N-no, i-it's ok, Naruto-kun."
Naruto looked the shy girl and was a bit distrought at her saddened face. He hated making people unhappy and it was even worse that she had been very nice to him through out his entire time in the academy. He wanted to trust her, to know that if someone found out about it the secret would be safe, but he wasn't sure if she was the right person to tell. Naruto thought it over and sighed. He had already sparked interest when he told them it was a secret and he knew that either way one of them would be looking to figure it out. He looked at the girl and scratched his head.
"F-Fine you can come, but mark my words... if the secret slips then there will be..."
"N-no, I-I won't tell."
He walked out the door, her in persuite and went outside of the school. Most of the students had already either gone home or to train with their new sensei's and he hoped Kiseki had been able to remain put in the tree. Hinata breifly wondered where they were going, but before she could ask Naruto stopped.
"Kiseki, you up there?"
"Y-Yes!" The girl said, seemingly a little flustered, "I want to come down now, Onii-Chan!"
Hinata looked at Naruto in bisbelief. Naruto had a sister, since when? She wondered how she could have missed it after intently watching him for over a year. She felt a bit dissapointed in her self for not being able to recognize that and turned to Naruto, "You have a sister?"
"You could say that, I guess," He said, "Jump down and I'll catch you!"
"Oook!"
Hinata looked up to see the little girl. She looked completely different from Naruto, in fact they were in no way similiar. They both had extremely different hair color and eye color. She smiled a bit to her self at the idea that she had infact not missed Naruto having something as important as a sister.
Kiseki stumbled across some small branches and twigs before she was free enough to jump down safely into the arms of Naruto. He put her down gently and upon seeing the other girl she quickly took Naruto's hands and hid behind him.
"Uh...?" Hinata questioned, a little confused at the girls reaction to seeing her, "D-Did I do something wrong."
"She's had a hard time with people."
"Oh...?" The girl seemed to question.
"Let's just leave it at that, ok?" Naruto turned to look at Kiseki and smiled at her, "She my teammate, you don't have to be scared of her."
Slowly and quietly she poked her head out to see the older girl. Hinata smiled a bit and waved at her, then apologized for scaring her. Although Kiseki was still a bit hesitant, she was finally able to greet the new face.
"I need to take her somewhere safe."
"Safe?"
"It's not safe here. Home is safe, this isn't safe," He said a bit frantically, looking for somewhere he could take the girl.
"N-Naruto-kun is there something wrong."
"No, no, nothing." Naruto said. He was getting a bit aggravated with the situation and more eager to find a place to put her untill the team meating ended. He knew these problems would eventually come and he cursed at himself for even bringing her to school in the first place.
"If it's not to much trouble, I will take her, Naruto-kun."
Naruto turned to the voice.
"O-O-Old man! What are you doing her."
"Just offering some help," The 3rd smiled at the boy.
Naruto hid Kiseki behind him; he wasn't going to let the old man take her back. He wanted to when and how the Hokage found out. The situation was getting stressful to him and before he could speak the Hinata did the honors.
"Hokage-sama?"
"You won't take her back, will you old man? I won't let you. I'll..."
"You mis-understand me Naruto-kun. She will be right here with me until you get back. Then she is all yours for the keeping."
"She's not an object," He said, glaring at the man.
"You are right, I'm sorry. However, I give you the Hokage's word that nothing will happen to this girl while you are away."
Naruto thought about it. He didn't want to give her up that easily, but he found no other choice in the matter. Maybe the Hokage was worth trusting, he had come through every other time Naruto needed him. Naruto nodded hessintantly. Kiseki gripped Naruto's arm tighter. She really didn't want to leave Naruto because she knew she would be safe with him. She didn't trust anyone else.
"O... Ok. But it's up to her."
"Great..." He said turning to the little girl. He smiled at her and held his hand out.
"But if you break your promise, I swear that none of Konoha will be safe untill I find her." Naruto said, a bit louder than before.
"I understand."
Naruto turned to Kiseki and led her to the Hokage. He promised her that if he didn't get her back in a certain amount time; he would find her and bring her back. After what seemed like a bit of convincing, Kiseki went to the man. Sarutobi picked her up, placind her on his shoulders and spoke to the little girl. Naruto eyed him carefully, but finally began to trust the man when he offered to take her out to eat. He was beggining to think that the Hokage would take care of her and that he wouldn't have to worry.
Hinata tapped Naruto on the shoulder and after knocking out of his trance she told him that they should hurry back to there room. They bolted off and were suprised to that their sensei had finally arrived.
"You're late," He said.
Unfortunately for the Jounin, neither Naruto nor Hinata were in the mood to here any of that crap and right in front of the jounin they pulled out two Kunai and threw them at the book he had in his hands. The kunai's struck the book right through the center making most of the middle section unreadable. The Jounin looked at them madly, but before he could speak, he met the voice of an angry Naruto.
"We're late! WE ARE LATE! SHUT UP! PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH MORON BECAUSE NEXT TIME IT WON'T BE THAT PERVERTED BOOK OF YOURS THAT'S RIPPED IN HALF! GAH!" Naruto threw his hands into the air, "BASTARD!"
"Ok then, my first impression of you three, is that I don't like you," He said calmly, "To the roof everyone."
"Ok, why don't you start by telling me something interesting about yourself?" Kakashi said, pulling out new copy of Icha Icha Paradise. He always kept to just in case things like the previous commotion happened, "I guess I'll go first. I am Kakashi, my interests are none of your business, what I like and dislike do not pertain to you, and my dreams are none of your concern."
"We didn't learn anything," Hinata said a bit shocked.
"Now you, the girl in white."
"Ummm, ok. M-My name Hyuuga Hinata. I-I like nice people and my dream is to become a worthy heir to the Hyuuga Family."
"Ok, now you in the summer clothes."
"Alright. Well I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen and friendly peolpe. I dislike traitors and people who take their family for granted; and my dream is to become Hokage..." Naruto paused for a second, grabbing a little more of Kakashi and the groups attention, "And too... give a certain person a chance to live a happier life."
'Oh, the first two seem to have their priorities in order. She needs a bit more confidence however Naruto might be able to pull that out a bit and if all goes well, he may help the Uchiha as well." Kakashi thought. He pointed towards the third member and told him that it was his turn.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things, I dislike alot of things. My dream, no, ambition, is to revive my clan and to kill a certain man."
"Just as suspected. Uchiha Itachi is undoubtably his target. He will be tough to fix."
"Very good. We will meet in training ground seven tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp for survival training. I advise you not to eat, or you will throw up."
"S-survival training?" Hinata said, asking the question that all the genin wanted an answer too.
"This survival training is different. This will decide if the three of you are fit to be ninja's, or if you need to sent back to the academy."
"What do you mean sent back, we just graduated!"
"Graduating means that all of you have met the qualifications to become Konoha shinobis. However, you must pass a test before you become one. This survival training has a 66 chance of failure. Yes, only 1/3 of your class will become active Genin. So I advise you best be prepared."All three students pailed at Kakashi's words, "But don't worry, one of you were at the top of your class, were you not?"
Kakashi put down his book for a second and chuckled at them and dismissed them. He dissapeared in a puff of smoke leaving all three graduates alone. Naruto, still a little bit unnerved about the survival training they would have the next day, tried to break the tention.
"Uh... Do you guys want to go eat out to celebrate our team?"
"No!" Sasuke said. Before Naruto could respond to him, the boy jumped off the roof and was off to do his own things. Naruto sighed and turned to his other teammate, "I guess you don't want to either."
"S-sorry I can't," She said a bit nerv-racked, "I-I have to go home," She said. She yelled at her self in her head for missing out on such a great opportunity, but once again she gave into her shyness and let it go. She wanted to kick herself, but held back.
"I see," Naruto said silently. He looked back up at her, and while hiding his dissapointment he quickly spoke again, "Maybe, some other time right!"
Hinata face began to turn red when she realized Naruto was asking her out. Sure it wasn't a date, but it was as close to one as she could have ever hoped to ask for. Quickly trying to blurt out a responce, she nodded her head couple of times and finally said ok.
"S-see you tomorrow, N-Naruto-kun!" She said, before jumping off and heading in her own direction. Naruto stood and watched her run off for a bit and after finally gaining his senses, he went to where the Hokage had promised to meet him. As promised from the Hokage, the old man was there with a seemingly happy Kiseki who after seeing Naruto, ran to his side and gripped on to him.
"We had a good time eh, Kiseki-chan?" The Hokage looked at the girl happily.
"Yes! But I missed onii-chan!" She responded. The man chuckled and looked at Naruto.
"You've made her very happy Naruto," He said, "Take good care of her." The 3rd began to walk off but turned to Naruto one last time, "You've made it one step closer to Hokage. I think you'll do well."
Somehow dinner was more fullfiling that night. Neither had spent this night alone as they had so many more times in the past. Kiseki had opened up to Naruto alot more, talking about trivial things such as her favorite color and favorite food, things that she wanted do now and things she wanted to do in the future. He was suprised to hear that Kiseki did not want to become a ninja, but instead a designer. He appluaded her and said he would help in whatever way he could. Kiseki laughed and smiled with him for the rest of the night.
"Cheers to us," Naruto said, lifting up his small glass. Kiseki looked puzzled and he told her to do the same. She imitated him and when they knocked their glasses together they drank ever last bit of water in the cup.
She could tell he was happy; and that made her happy. It was almost as if she had connected with him in some way. When he was far, she felt alone; when he was close, she felt safe. When he was sad, she felt sad; and when he was happy she became happy. It was the relationship she had always yearned for; and even though she had only known him for a couple of days, even though he wasn't even real family, he became much more.
"Because together, we're family," He smiled.
Kiseki's heart leapt, with him she was alive; with him, she was home.
Morgri: So this ends chapter three. I'm not exactly sure if this turned out good as far as reading and writing standards go, but I think it's alright. I went over the story about a thousand times so it should be mistake free. If not, just beat me over the head with it.
Please keep in mind that the whole scene with Hinata and Naruto is not made to insinuate the idea that they will be a couple. It is just a reaction I think she would have if she were put on his team and in that situation. In fact it's probably not exagerated enough. I'm not sure if I will make couples for this story, but if you guys really want one, then suggest your favorites and I'll make sure to put some thought into it. However, I'm not a yaoi fan so please don't bombard me with sasunaru's or you will be dissapointed.
Also, there are three versions of this chapter. One with Hinata as the teammate (as presented), another with Sakura as the teammate, and a third with a different OC. If you would like to see any of these other version, emial me or tell me in the reviews and I'll be glad to send it or post it up.
Finally, please be sure to give a review. What you like, what you don't like, what you wish were in there, etc etc, it is all helpful criticism that would hopefully improve the story and make it more enjoyable for those of you reading.
Morgri.