Ricky: Here's part 2. enjoy! PS: Still don't own Naruto.
Naruto: Life of a Shy Jinchuuriki
Chapter 6: Naruto's First Real Christmas: Part Two
Naruto was inside his apartment putting the final touches on his little plan. It had been exactly two weeks since he first decided to start trying to be nice to his tormentors and, so far, his idea wasn't failing. Then again, it wasn't a total success either. Some of his bullies had started feeling bad when he'd been nice to them, others had just brushed off his attempts a kindness. Ino had almost completely stopped trying to ignore it when Sasuke and the others bullied him, but still thought that she could change the Uchiha's attitude. Sakura, however, was another story entirely. Whenever he'd try to be nice to her, the stubborn pink-haired girl would brush him off or say that he was bugging her. So, he'd decided to try a more drastic measure. He started trying to raise some money to buy some gifts for his classmates. He took odd jobs around the village: shoveling snow, cleaning out gutters, things like that. It was now Christmas Eve. Naruto was almost ready for Christmas. He'd gotten some special gifts for Mizuki and Iruka, for his friends, and even for his two biggest tormentors (aka the Onyx-Eyed Viper and the Pink Banshee) in hopes of showing the people he care about how much he appreciated them and "extending an olive-branch" to his enemies. Unbeknownst to Naruto, the only reason that many of the villagers even agreed to let him do those things was that they hoped that he would freeze to death or work himself to death. If it weren't for a certain silver-haired Anbu who was watching over him at the time, Naruto probably wouldn't have gotten paid at all for all his hard work.
"Hey Naruto! Come on, we're waiting for ya!" He heard Kiba shout from outside.
Naruto went to his window and looked outside to see Kiba and the others waiting for him. He opened the window and popped his head out.
"Yeah, come on! We're gonna be late for the Academy if you don't get out here soon!" Chouji said.
"Actually, we still have about an hour before class starts." Shino corrected the young Akimichi.
"Yeah. So it'd be too troublesome to rush when we've got so much time" Shikamaru said.
"I-I-I'll b-b-be out i-i-in a m-m-minute." Naruto told them.
He grabbed the five bags of gifts he had in his room, put on the last of his snow-gear, then walked outside his apartment, locked the door behind him, and went down the stairs to leave with his friends. The others looked at the bags Naruto was carrying with curiosity. One thought was running through their heads.
'What's up with the bags?'
"Hey, Naruto! Need a hand with those?" Kiba asked, still curious but wanting to help his shy friend.
"I-It's okay. I-I've g-got them" Naruto responded.
"No, no, no! I insist!" Kiba said, taking one of the bags.
"Insist? Well, Naruto-san. It looks like the tutoring sessions you've been giving Kiba-san have been paying off." Shino joked, having started showing people more of the real him once he saw Naruto's change in attitude when it came to the holidays.
"Yeah, they really ha-Hey, wait a minute! What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked, glaring at Shino.
Chouji and Shikamaru were cracking up at their stoic friend's attempt at humor and Naruto was actually trying to stifle a giggle. Kiba, on the other hand, was just plain pissed off at the insinuation of Shino's words.
"Nothing. I'm just saying that Naruto-san has been a big help for you." Shino said while trying to keep a straight face.
"Oh... Okay." Kiba said, totally buying Shino's act while his friends silently laughed behind his back.
"Like I said before, I insist." Kiba said as he took one of the bags out of Naruto's hands, making his friends have to try even harder to hide their laughter.
After they calmed down, Shino, Chouji, and even Shikamaru took some of Naruto's load off. When the five of them had almost made it to the Academy, Kiba's curiosity finally got the better of him and he peaked inside the bag he was carrying. Inside, there were some gifts.
"Hey, Naruto! What's with the presents inside the bags?" Kiba asked before slapping a hand over his mouth.
"Y-y-you peeked?" Naruto asked, a little upset.
"Yeah... Sorry." Kiba said ashamedly.
"I-i-it's o-okay. I f-f-forgive y-you." Naruto told his feral-looking friend.
"Thanks. Soooo... What's up with the gifts?" Kiba repeated.
"Th-th-they're for y-you guys, I-Iruka-sensei, M-Mizuki-sensei, and the r-rest of our c-c-classmates." Naruto told him.
"Even the Viper?" Kiba asked with some shock, as he was referring to Sasuke.
"Yes... E-even h-him." Naruto said
"Why?" Chouji asked.
"I th-th-thought about it and I remembered something I heard b-before. "To get a little good will and cheer, you sometimes have to give some first." I hadn't even t-tried to b-be nice to any of them before, so how could I e-expect th-them to b-be nice to m-me?" Naruto explained.
"I guess that makes some sense." Kiba said, still a little skeptical.
"So a f-few w-weeks ago, I d-decided to st-start t-trying b-being n-nice to them." Naruto continued.
"How's that been workin out for ya?" Shikamaru asked.
"H-h-hit and m-m-miss." Naruto replied.
"Sooo… Can we have ours now?" Kiba asked as Akamaru yipped at Kiba from atop his master's head.
"Okay, I'll ask... Hey Naruto, ya have one for Akamaru too?" Kiba said/asked.
"O-of course. And y-y-yes, you c-can all h-have y-yours now. J-just p-p-please d-d-don't o-o-open them until C-C-Christmas." Naruto told Kiba before reaching into the bag he was carrying, pulling out five presents, and handing Kiba his and Akamaru's.
"Okay." Kiba said as he accepted the gifts from his shy friend.
"Thank you, Naruto-san." Shino said as he accepted his shy friend's gift.
"Thanks, little buddy!" Chouji said as he accepted his.
"Thanks." Shikamaru simply said as Naruto handed him his present.
Then the five of them then continued on their way towards the Academy.
At the Academy gate
Sasuke's fan girls and goons were waiting for the young Uchiha to arrive. The goons were all busy talking about the possible ideas that their leader would have for torturing Naruto today. And most of the fan girls were arguing over whom the emo Uchiha liked best. One of them, however, had something else on her mind. Ino Yamanaka was known as "Konoha's Gossip Queen." She was also known to be short-tempered, a little shallow, and, at times, somewhat rude. But, despite being all those things, she also had a good heart. No matter how shallow Ino was, she didn't openly approve of bullies or anyone like them. When Naruto stopped trying to run and hide from his tormentors and started trying to be nice to them, she saw him as more than just the, to quote Sasuke, "shy dobe who never puts up a fight." She started to see just how kind-hearted and caring Naruto really was.
'I can't believe I never stood up for him before! He must think that I'm a horrible person.' Ino thought.
She'd been thinking about this a lot lately. She looked back on how Naruto was treated in the past,... Well, what she knew about his treatment anyway, and realized that, even though she'd never actively been one of Naruto's tormentors, she'd never stuck up for him either. As her guilt about this fact grew, her thoughts about Naruto's possible opinion about her grew more and more depressing. Not to mention farther from the truth, but she didn't know that.
'Alright! That's it! I'm done turning a blind eye to how those people treat Naruto-san! The next time I see him, I'm gonna start being nicer to him!'
As Ino was lost in her thoughts, Sasuke arrived on the scene. He had his usual "I'm-an-Uchiha-so-I'm-better-than-you" smirk stretched across his face and a sadistic glint in his eyes at the thoughts running through his mind. All of them entailed new ways of getting Naruto away from his friends long enough to destroy what little confidence he'd gained since he started to hang out with them. Well... that and how to get back at Hinata Hyuuga, who'd started to sort of act like a bodyguard for the shy blond when most of his friends weren't around.
'One day, you white-eyed bitch! One day, you're going to pay for making a fool out of me!' The crazed Uchiha kept thinking whenever his thoughts drifted towards Hinata.
Sasuke's fan girls all tried to ask him out, but he paid no attention to any of them. His goons all welcomed their onyx-eyed leader with the usual high-fives, knuckle-bumps, and pats on the back. Afterwards, Sasuke headed to class, closely followed by the rest of the group. Ino, on the other hand, was still too lost in her thoughts to notice that the others had left. But she was brought back to reality when someone accidentally ran into her.
"Owww... Watch where you're going, you little..." Ino said before she realized who she was talking to.
The person who had run into her was Hinata, who had been too determined to get to class before her latest prank set itself off to watch where she was going. Ino interrupted herself because she knew that Hinata had a reputation for pranking anyone she didn't like or who didn't like her.
"Sorry about that. I didn't see where I was going." Hinata said as she got to her feet.
"It's okay! I should've been paying attention!" Ino said nervously, trying to not upset the mischievous Hyuuga heiress.
"Well I'm still sorr... Oh. Hello, Ino-san. I thought you'd be with your friends." Hinata said with a little venom.
She knew all too well that a few of Sasuke's fan girls were former friends of Ino's.
"Yeah... I don't really consider them friends. I was sick of watching them treat Naruto-san like that when he'd never done anything to them, so I finally decided to just stop hanging out with them."
"Oh really... Then why didn't you ever stick up for Naruto then, huh?" Hinata said, not really believing her.
"Well... I... Sigh... I know. I should have said something. Believe me I wanted to, but... well... I was... I was scared, okay!" Ino replied.
"Scared! Of what! What could you possibly have been scared of!"
"Of what Naruto would say to me! I was afraid that he'd think I was just pitying him! And I was not looking forward to hearing him say something like that!" Ino told Hinata.
"I... Sigh... I guess I understand. If Naruto decides to forgive you, then I'll decide whether or not I will." Hinata said.
Just as Hinata said this said shy blond arrived with his friends, each of them carrying a semi-large bag.
"Hi Naruto! How's your morning been so far?" Hinata said after she got over her initial surprise about the bags.
"O-ok-k-kay." Naruto responded nervously before stepping behind Shino a bit.
'W-w-what's w-w-wrong with m-m-me? W-w-why do I g-g-get l-like th-this around H-Hinata-chan? I kn-know I'm not sc-scared of h-her... S-so wh-why do I g-get so n-n-nervous?' Naruto wondered.
"Naruto... Don't you have something for her?" Shino asked, startling Naruto a bit at the abruptness of the question.
Naruto nodded, then reached into the bag he was carrying, pulled out a present wrapped in lavender wrapping paper, stepped out from behind Shino, and bowed his head while handing it out to Hinata. She looked from the present to Naruto and back again, then stepped forward, took the present, and hugged Naruto.
"Thanks, Naruto-kun." She told him.
Naruto was too surprised by the hug and her adding the "kun" part to respond. All he could do was stand there and blush as his mind started to get foggy.
'S-sh-she's h-h-hugging m-m-me!' Naruto thought as he blacked out.
"Naruto? Are you okay? Naruto?" Hinata asked before she let him go.
As soon as Hinata let go, Naruto's limp body fell to the ground with a thud. When Naruto hit the ground, Hinata started to panic, afraid that she'd killed him or something.
"DAMNIT HYUUGA! YOU KNOW WHAT NARUTO GETS LIKE WHEN YOU DO STUFF LIKE THAT!" Kiba yelled as he walked over to Naruto and tried to pick him up.
"Don't just stand there! Give me a hand!" Kiba snapped at his other friends.
As soon as Kiba said this, Shino, Chouji, and Shikamaru started clapping. This caused a tick mark to appear on Kiba's forehead.
"Real funny. NOW HELP ME!"
Shino and Chouji then walked over and helped Kiba pick the unconscious Naruto up. Kiba then looked at Shikamaru.
"Well? Aren't you gonna help us too?"
"Sorry Kiba. One of us has to let Iruka-sensei know what happened." Shikamaru said lazily.
"Fricking lazy-ass bastard." Kiba swore.
The three boys then turned and left to take the unconscious Naruto to the nurse's office.
Later, right before class starts
The entire class was causing a real ruckus. Most of them were complaining about having to be there on Christmas Eve. Others were just talking to their friends about what they might get. As this was happening, Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, and Shino walked into the classroom and were very surprised to see the chaos occurring.
"Looks like none of them wanna be here." Kiba said.
"Can't be helped. They should just stop complaining and settle down before Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei show up." Chouji said.
"Try telling them that."
"E-e-excuse me." Naruto stuttered, trying to get the class's attention.
Nobody seemed to have heard him. They just kept up the ruckus (Ruckus. I don't know why, but I just love to say that word!).
"E-e-excuse me." Naruto said, trying again.
Same result.
"What's up, little buddy?" Chouji asked.
Naruto looked towards his large friend and he, Shino, and even Kiba instantly knew what Naruto wanted.
"I'm on it, Naruto." Chouji said, taking a huge breath.
"SHUUUUUUT UUUUUP!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, silencing the entire class.
They all stared at Chouji, shocked that the young Akimichi had actually yelled without being called "fatso" or something like that.
"Now that I've got your attention, I want to let you know that Naruto's got something for all of you." Chouji said calmly.
The class started up again as soon as they heard this. Most of them were curious about what their shy classmate had for them.
"QUIEEEEEET!" Kiba shouted.
They all settled down again.
"Go ahead, Naruto." Kiba said.
Naruto then excused himself for a second and walked back in holding five bags that looked like they were full to bursting.
"Um... Uh... S-s-since it's C-C-Christmas Eve, I th-th-thought I'd... W-w-well.. Uuuh..." Naruto stuttered out before putting the bags down and slinking behind Shino, his nerves getting the better of him.
"I-i'd like t-to give you a-all a present." Naruto said to them
The entire class started talking amongst themselves again. Tired of forcing them to stop, Naruto and his friends just started taking the presents out of the bags and handing them out. But, just as they were almost finished, Sasuke decided to run his mouth.
"Why are we even taking these things? Knowing how poor Neglected Naruto is, these gifts are all probably crappy little pieces of gift shop shit!" Sasuke exclaimed before throwing his to the ground and stepping on it.
"Shut up, Uchiha-teme! Naruto worked really hard to bu-" Kiba started, but was interrupted by the sound of multiple objects hitting the ground at once.
Almost everyone else in the class was following Sasuke's example, throwing their presents from Naruto to the ground and stepping on them. Kiba was livid, Chouji looked like he was about to put Sasuke in the hospital, Shikamaru actually had an angry look on his face, and Shino… well… Everyone could hear a buzzing sound coming from him. As the rest of the class continued stomping on the gifts Naruto got for them, Hinata had had enough.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE ALL OF YOU DOING? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THOUGHT NARUTO PUT INTO THIS?" Hinata shouted before getting up and standing beside Naruto.
"WHY THE HELL SHOULD WE CARE? SASUKE-KUN'S RIGHT! FOR ALL WE KNOW, THESE THINGS COULD BE WORTHLESS!" Sakura shouted at her loud banshee's daughter volume before picking up her present and throwing it at Naruto.
The present impacted with Naruto's head with the sound of glass hitting a human skull. Whatever Naruto got Sakura, it was obviously made of glass. As soon as it hit Naruto's head, it bounced off his head (none too lightly, I might add) and landed on the shy blond's foot. Some cuts could be seen on the visible areas that the present affected and Naruto looked like he was about to cry. Ino, one of the only one's who'd decided not to follow Sasuke's example, put her gift down gently, then stood up, walked over to Sakura, and slapped her. Hard.
"SAKURA! I'M SURPRISED AT YOU! SO WHAT IF IT'S NOT AN EXPENSIVE GIFT? WITH HOW YOU'VE ALL TREATED NARUTO-SAN, YOU'RE LUCKY HE EVEN CHOSE TO GET YOU ANYTHING!" Ino yelled at the pinkette.
"SHUT THE HELL UP, INO-PIG! HE GAVE IT TO ME, SO I CAN DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT! BESIDES, WHY DO YOU CARE?"
"I CARE BECAUSE NARUTO-SAN HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG TO ANY OF YOU! HE'S NEVER BEEN MEAN TO ANY OF YOU, YET YOU ALL TREAT HIM LIKE SHIT! AND I'M DONE JUST TURNING A BLIND EYE TO IT ALL!"
As the two girls continued their argument, Sasuke was sneaking over towards Ino's seat. Just as he was about to reach out and grab the present Ino put down, a kunai knife zipped by and nearly cut him on the back of his hand.
"I SAW THAT, YOU FILTHY DAMN LITTLE SNAKE! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Kiba shouted.
Sasuke looked at Kiba, a fake innocent-looking smile.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"YOU'RE LYING THROUGH YOUR FRICKIN TEETH! You were planning on destroying that gift or doings something else with it!"
"So what if I am? What're you going to do about it? You couldn't beat me if I had one hand tied behind back."
"You really think so...? Prove it! Unless you're as much of a chicken as that stupid haircut of yours indicates!"
"THAT'S IT!"
Sasuke ran up and tried to punch Kiba, only for Kiba to duck and punch him square in his jaw as hard as he could, knocking the Uchiha on his ass. The entire class was deathly quiet with shock. Sasuke stood up and glared at Kiba.
"Outside. NOW!" Sasuke shouted at the young Inuzuka.
"Umm… No."
"WHY THE…"
Kiba socked the Uchiha in the face. Hard. Sasuke fell to the ground again and put his hand to his nose from the pain. When he pulled it back… He saw blood.
'That… THAT FUCKING BASTARD! EVEN IF IT IS JUST A NOSEBLEED, THAT WORTHLESS PEON MADE ME BLEED!' Sasuke thought, his mind swimming with rage.
"FORGET ABOUT TAKING THIS OUTSIDE! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Sasuke screamed before charging at Kiba.
Sasuke pulled out a kunai knife mid-charge and threw it right at Kiba. Said Inuzuka dodged the kunai, only for Sasuke to kick him in the gut followed by a punch to his chin, then grab him by the hair on the back of his head and slam the young Inuzuka's face into his knee. Naruto moved to intervene, but was stopped by Shino.
"S-S-Shino? Wh-wh-what're you…"
Shino interrupted the shy blond by holding his hand up.
"I know that you're worried about him Naruto-san, but you're concern is unnecessary. Kiba-san can take care of himself. You just go to the nurse's office and get some bandages on those cuts." Shino told him.
"B-b-but…"
"No buts. Hinata-san, could you please take Naruto-san to the nurse's office for us?"
"Uuh… Sure."
Hinata dragged Naruto out of the room while Shino looked back and focused on the fight. Even though Sasuke was supposedly one of the toughest kids in the class, Kiba was holding his own. Sasuke threw a punch, but Kiba merely caught the young Uchiha's fist with his left hand and struck back with a punch of his own. Sasuke ducked and delivered a kick to Kiba's vulnerable left side. As soon as the Uchiha's foot made contact, Kiba jumped away and threw two shuriken at him. Using this as a distraction, Kiba crouched down and made a single hand sign.
'Please let it work this time' He thought.
"Ninpou: Beast Mimicry! Shikyaku no Jutsu!" Kiba shouted.
Immediately after, Kiba started to give off more chakra as his fingernails grew into claws.
'It worked…? IT WORKED! I FINALLY PULLED OFF THE SHIKYAKU NO JUTSU!' He shouted in his mind.
"HERE I COME, SASUKE-TEME!" Kiba shouted before he disappeared in a burst of speed.
"WHAT THE…? WHERE THE HELL'D YOU…" Sasuke said before Kiba appeared in front of him and slammed his right shoulder right into Sasuke's body at a high speed.
The impact from the hit sent the Uchiha boy flying through a window. Since they were on the first floor, he landed safely.
"Heh… Piece a' cake." Kiba said with a smirk before turning his back on Sasuke.
"I'M NOT DONE YET, YOU STUPID MUTT!"
Kiba turned back around and saw Sasuke starting to stand up. He shot towards Sasuke like a bullet, pulling his clawed hand back to slash him. But, as he got closer, he saw Sasuke going through some hand signs. Thinking Sasuke was serious, Kiba zipped behind the young "avenger" and slashed him across his back.
"GAH! THAT'S IT! I'M THROUGH PLAYING AROUND!" Sasuke shouted as he pulled out a kunai knife and tried to stab Kiba in the gut.
Kiba easily evaded the attempted stab, dashed behind Sasuke again, and kicked him in the back of his head. Sasuke hit the ground hard and didn't get up. Kiba leaned down to check if the Uchiha was still breathing. Upon hearing Sasuke's heart beating, Kiba knew that said "avenger" was still alive, just knocked out.
"AND STAY DOWN!" Kiba pointed at Sasuke and said before he stood back up.
He turned his head to the left and faced the broken window. He saw that almost the entire class was staring at him with their eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"ALL RIGHT KIBA! WAY TA GO!" Chouji said as he jumped out the broken window to congratulate his friend, with Akamaru following close behind..
Hinata and Naruto then walked back into the classroom and saw everyone else by the window. They walked over, and through the crowd, and were greeted with the sight of Sasuke unconscious on the ground with Kiba celebrating and Chouji talking to him. Naruto hopped through the broken window and walked towards his friend to congratulate him. But, just as he was halfway to his friends, he saw Sasuke abruptly get up on his knees and start making hand signs.
"H-h-h-he… He was faking. KIBA, CHOUJI, AKAMARU! LOOK OUT!" Naruto shouted before running towards them as fast as his legs could carry him.
Kiba, Chouji, and Akamaru all turned their heads in Naruto's direction in surprise when they heard him shout. Naruto NEVER shouted, so they knew it was important. Kiba was curious, and he could tell Chouji and Akamaru were as well, so he decided to ask Naruto what he was shouting about.
"Naruto? What's…"
"KATON: GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!"
Kiba turned and saw Sasuke using one of his clan's patented fire jutsu. Naruto then pushed him, Chouji, and even Akamaru to the side and was engulfed in the approaching fireball.
"NARUTO!" Chouji and Kiba both shouted simultaneously.
The fireball soon dissipated, revealing a badly burned Naruto. Kiba ran to Naruto as fast as he could, extremely worried about his shy friend. Hinata jumped out the broken window and ran to Naruto as well.
"N-Naruto? Can you hear me?" Kiba said as he crouched down near him.
Naruto didn't respond. Neither Kiba nor Hinata could even tell if Naruto was breathing, much less conscious.
"N-N-Naruto? Please, say something! Please Naruto!" Hinata said, crouching near Naruto as tears formed in her eyes.
Hinata bent down further and put her ear over his heart. She heard it beating! It was a little fainter than she would've liked, but at least he was alive!
"H-h-he's alive." Hinata told Kiba, feeling very relieved.
Hinata then started trying to wake Naruto up. While this was happening, Naruto's other friends, including Ino, all turned and glared at Sasuke, all of them far beyond angry. Seeing all the glares, Sasuke knew in the back of his mind that he was in serious trouble. Hinata and Kiba turned towards Sasuke and each sent him glares that were cold enough to freeze lava while, at the same time, heated enough to melt a mountain.
"Uuuum..." That was all Sasuke managed to say before Kiba shot at him like a bullet and kicked him in the face, literally knocking one of his teeth down his throat. Hinata came up behind Kiba and hit Sasuke with a Jyuuken-style slap right across his face and a Jyuuken punch to his solar plexus. Kiba then took his turn and picked the Uchiha up by his shirt collar, lifted him up, and slammed his fist into Sasuke's gut as hard as he could, sending him flying into a nearby tree. Kiba ran up, then smashed his elbow into the young Uchiha's back as he tried to stand. Sasuke tried to stand up again, only for Kiba to plant his foot into the grounded Sasuke's chest. Hinata came over, nudged Kiba as if asking him to step aside, then started to repeatedly kick and punch Sasuke while he was down, not even bothering to let him get up. The rest of the class just looked on in shock. They knew that all of Naruto's friends were very protective of him, especially Kiba and Hinata, but they never thought that the two of them could be so vicious.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" They heard someone shout. They turned and saw Iruka staring at the scene in utter shock.
Kiba and Hinata briefly stopped when they heard the Chuunin shout, looked at him, then turned back towards Sasuke and glared, fully intent on beating him to death. But, before they could inflict any more harm on the young Uchiha, Iruka ran up and pulled the two of them away from him.
"WHAT'RE YOU DOING, SENSEI? LET ME GO! THAT BASTARD'S GOTTA PAY!" Kiba shouted before Iruka slapped him across the face.
"KIBA! Calm down. Now I need you to tell me what happened." Iruka told him.
Kiba and Hinata then went on to explain every thing to Iruka. As the tale went on, Iruka kept getting madder and madder. When he heard what Sasuke did to Naruto, he almost snapped. The look of rage on Iruka's face was one that could terrify a pack of youko (demon fox(es) (Don't know if there are any plural forms for Japanese words)) so badly that they'd be whimpering like wussy little kits. As soon as Kiba and Hinata finished, Iruka turned towards the class, rage and disappointment evident on his face.
"Sasuke Uchiha! How the hell could you do that! I don't care if you're the last Uchiha, I'm going to see it that you get severe punishment!" Iruka said as he grabbed Sasuke by the scruff of the neck and began to carry him.
Hinata then leaned down and hugged Naruto up to her body, protecting him from further harm.
"H-Hi-Hina-Hinata?" She heard a quiet voice sputter in shock.
Hinata looked down to see Naruto wide awake, staring at her with wide eyes, and blushing so badly that, not only was he glowing, but he was glowing bright enough to make a Christmas tree look like a candle in comparison.
"Naruto-kun! I'm Sooo glad you're okay!" Hinata exclaimed before hugging Naruto again.
As soon as Hinata hugged him again, Naruto's blush worsened. It could now make a Christmas tree look like a burnt out match in comparison. Naruto started to get the urge to hug her back, but before he could even attempt to do so, everything started getting dark.
'N-n-not now! N-n-not now! Please!' Naruto thought before blacking out.
"Naruto? Are you okay?" Hinata asked as she felt Naruto go limp in her arms.
Hinata pulled back and saw that Naruto had passed out, just like he usually does when she hugs him.
"FUCKING DAMN IT, HYUUGA!" Kiba yelled.
"S-sorry!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Uuum... Hate to interrupt, but I think Naruto should go to the hospital." Chouji said.
"Oh... Right. I'll carry him." Hinata said.
"OH HELL NO! IF YOU CARRY HIM, AND HE WAKES UP, THEN HE'LL JUST FAINT AGAIN! I'LL CARRY HIM!" Kiba shouted.
After arguing for about a minute, Hinata and Kiba agreed to work together to carry Naruto. The two of them then picked him up and made their way to the nearest hospital, with Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino, who grabbed her present first, following close behind.
At the Hokage's office
Sarutobi was busy with some paperwork... And complaining about having to do it at Christmas time, when He heard someone knock at his door.
"Come in." He called and was surprised when Iruka walked in carrying Sasuke.
"Iruka-kun? Why have you come? And why are you carrying Sasuke?" Sarutobi asked.
"Steel your nerves, Hokage-sama. You're not gonna like this." Iruka said before telling Sarutobi what happened in class earlier.
"HE DID WHAT?" The aged Hokage shouted loud enough for someone on the other side of the village to hear.
"Sasuke Uchiha! Since you seem so intent on causing Naruto harm, I believe you won't mind paying for his medical expense when you do so!"
"WHAT! I don't have the kinda money to do that!"
Oh, yes you do! It'll be taken out of the Uchiha clan account, which you will receive full access to when you either turn 16 or become a Chuunin!"
Outside Konoha
A merchant and his family were heading towards the Land of Wind when they heard someone's voice echo from the direction of Konoha.
"IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR!"
"What the hell was that, dearest?" The merchant asked his wife, who just shrugged her shoulders.
Back in Konoha (in the Hospital)
Naruto was waking up, surprised to find himself in a hospital bed. Unfortunately, that surprise was soon replaced with searing pain (Get it? Searing! As in searing heat! Hahaha... Sorry. That was in bad taste.).
"AAAGH" Naruto screamed in pain, still healing from his burns.
As soon as Naruto screamed, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino busted down the door to his room and ran in.
"Naruto? You okay?" Chouji asked.
"N-n-not r-really. I'm s-still in p-pain from g-getting b-burned." Naruto said.
As soon as Naruto said that, Kiba, Chouji, and Akamaru all looked down, seemingly disappointed in themselves.
"Uuuh… Naruto… We're sorry you got hurt because of us." Kiba said.
"Yeah, we're sorry." Chouji said as Akamaru whimpered.
"I-I-it's okay. It's n-not your f-faults. I ch-ch-chose to s-s-save y-you guys." Naruto said.
"Still… We should've been more cautious. Can you ever forgive us?" Kiba said.
"Th-there's n-nothing to f-forgive. A-and you g-guys all s-say I a-apologize too m-much." Naruto joked.
Everyone started to laugh lightly at Naruto's joke. After they all calmed down, Kiba spoke again.
"We're still sorry you got hurt. If there's anything we can do to make you feel any better, just say so." Kiba told Naruto.
"Yeah! Anything you want from us, just name it!" Chouji said.
W-w-well… There is o-one thi-thing I-I've always w-wanted." Naruto said.
"What is it?" Chouji asked his shy friend.
"I've a-always w-wanted to kn-know who my p-parents w-were." Naruto said.
"We're on it, little buddy! Right guys?" Kiba said.
Shino, Chouji, and even Shikamaru all nodded in agreement. As soon as they agreed, Akamaru jumped off Kiba's head and on to Naruto's bed. The puppy walked up to Naruto, licked him in the face, and curled up next to the shy whiskered boy.
"I guess Akamaru agrees too." Choji said with a laugh
"Count me in!" Hinata said enthusiastically.
"Me too! And Naruto… I'm sorry about how I treated you before. You must think I'm a horrible person." Ino said.
"B-b-but… I don't."
"Wh-what?" Ino exclaimed.
"I d-don't think you're a h-horrible person, I-Ino-san. I've a-already forgiven th-the fact that y-you never stood up for m-me." Naruto told her.
As Naruto said this, Ino couldn't believe her ears. Naruto had already forgiven her. Tears started to form in Ino's eyes as it hit her that all of her worrying was for nothing. Ino then ran up and hugged Naruto.
"Th-thank you, Naruto-san. I-I'm so relieved." Ino said while she cried.
Naruto just sat there, confused. Why, you ask? Well, first of all, Ino was crying after hearing him tell her that he'd already forgiven her. Secondly, He wasn't feeling like he was about to pass out like he did every time Hinata held him! This just made Naruto even more curious about why Hinata had that effect on him. Still confused, Naruto finally decided to just return the hug and pat Ino on the back while doing so.
"I-i-it's alright, I-Ino-s-san. I-I-it's okay." He said.
After about a minute, Ino finally calmed down and pulled back, wiping her tears on her shirt.
"Th-thanks, Naruto-san" Ino said.
As Ino said this, a nurse walked in and knocked on the part of the wall next to the opened door.
"Alright everyone. Visiting hours are over. You all need to leave and give this pa…" The nurse said, trailing off as she noticed that the patient was actually Naruto. The nurse glared at Naruto before looking back at the others and saying.
"My point is, you all need to leave. Now." She said before glaring at Naruto again and leaving, shutting the door behind her.
"Sorry Naruto. We'll see ya tomorrow." Kiba said.
"Yeah. See ya, little buddy." Chouji said.
"Goodbye for today, Naruto-san." Shino said.
"Bye." Shikamaru just said.
Bye Naruto-san. We'll all visit you again tomorrow." Ino said.
The others all walked out one by one until the only one left in the room with Naruto was Hinata. Hinata was just staring at Naruto, still unable to believe that he'd pulled together enough courage to do what he did.
"See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun." Hinata said.
Naruto, completely surprised and blushing at the honorific Hinata added to his name, just nodded dumbly.
"S.. S-see y-you t-tomorrow, H-H-Hinata-ch-ch-chan." Naruto stuttered.
Hinata leaned over and kissed Naruto on the cheek before turning and leaving. Naruto just sat there, completely stunned blushing hard enough to make a lighthouse look like a dim light bulb. Naruto had one thought before he passed out for the fourth time that day.
'B-b-best. Ch-Ch-Christmas. Ever.'
MHG: I'll give this guy credit, he is making a damn good story. Now is the fun part to see what happens with this story. All I got to say review this story, this guy deserves it.
Ricky: Well there ya go! I finally got this done! Hold on… *Looks at the total number of pages forr both chapters put together* … DAAAAAMN! 32 PAGES! THAT! IS! FUCKING NUTS! NO WONDER THIS TOOK SO LONG TA GET OUT!
Kiba: I guess it's long enough at make up for how long ya took to finish it. But… just barely!
Ricky: I'm in such a good mood that I'm not gonna even bother to get mad about that comment!
Everyone: From all of us at Naruto: Life of a Shy Jinchuuriki, we hope you readers had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed this chapter! Please review!
Sasuke: *From inside the pit from before* NOW WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA THIS PIT! I'VE BEEN IN HERE THE WHOLE TIME!
Ricky: Hmm… Let me think-No. *Dumps a bucket of rotten fish into the pit*
Sakura: SASUKE-KUN!
Sasuke: YOU CRUEL, SICK, SADISTIC BASTARD!
Ricky: Flattery will get you nowhere.
MHG: Okay Sasuke, it's time to meet your match. HINATA! Get in here!
Alternate Hinata: You rang?
MHG: blow this guy to bits
Alternate Hinata: Chakra Blast!
BOOM!
MHG: Okay folks, me and ricky are planning a crossover between this story and mine Wyvern chronicles. If you have not read it, give it a shot, its interesting in a good, bad, and strange way.
Ricky: Also, I'd like to welcome hinatasgreatestfan to the group. He is gonna be my spellcheck and grammar correction beta for this fic from now on. Please check out these stories by him:
A Single Call
This was, like, the first one he wrote. And it is gooood.
The Sacrifice of Hinata
Basically, Hinata is the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi in this one. And I've seen this kind of concept done quite a few times before, so I know a good story about it when I see one.
Honest Curse
Truth be told, when I started reading this one, I wanted to take a crack at Chewie Cookie's Absolute Promise Challenge myself. But this fic comes first. And I have two reasons for that:
This is my first solo fic, so I want it to be a hit.
One of the first fics I ever read was a take on the Shy Naruto challenge, so I've wanted to take it for a long time and make my take on it a huge hit.
True Sight
This one gives you some insight on what could've been and, in two of them, a look at what might have been running through Naruto and Hinata's minds during their little interaction at the training grounds before Naruto's fight with Neji.
Double Take
This one's a time-travel fic. Seen a lot of those in the past… Get it. Past.
Chigan
Another fic specifically about Naruto having a bloodline. "What kind?" You may be asking. Read it and find out.
Shy Fox
I know I probably shouldn't be spreading the word about this one because of what my goal is, but I'm a man of principles. More importantly, I'm a man of my word. And I promised myself that, sooner or later, I'd tell anyone reading my take on the challenge about anyone else's takes that I've read and liked.