Naruto huffed again, expelling steam from his mouth. "ROOAAR!" His ferocious growl reverberated around the woods. He stomped his feet, arms raised above his head and waving clawed fingers through the air. The sticks that had been jabbed into the snow were swiped away with a massive kick of his foot and the boy bared his teeth at the carnage of twigs and leaves. His fierce glare swept across the clearing, scanning the area for any ninja who dare try to thwart his pursuit of complete and utter destruction.
But nobody was there. Nobody was ever there. The young boy sighed and sank to the frosted ground, plopping his chin into his hand.
"Playing Ninjas and Kyuubi by yourself is no fun." It was a game he had observed the other children acting out on the playground and even at the orphanage from time to time. He had watched, green with envy, as they had run and laughed together, recreating the infamous story of the Yellow Flash Hokage slaying the Fox Demon and saving the village! He would do anything if they would just let him play too! But every time he would try to jump in, he would be met with looks of scorn. Heck, sometimes even the parents would actually shoo him away like some stray mutt. He didn't get it. What did he ever do to any of them? Why was he so alone?
The growl of his stomach echoed nearly as loudly as his earlier imitations of the Kyuubi and the boy stood, brushing the snow from his worn pants. Burying tiny fists in his pockets and tucking his nose down into the ratty scarf that hung around his neck, Naruto started to make his way back to the village. Maybe, if he was lucky, that one ramen stand would let him have a pork bowl for dinner. The old man there either had yet to realize that Naruto was the village pariah, or just didn't care. Naruto hoped for the latter. Plus the ramen is super yummy, dattebayo!
An all too familiar sing song tone of mockery reached his ears and he leapt into a nearby tree on instinct. Slowly working his way through the branches he peered between the lattice of naked winter limbs to see who was the unlucky victim this time. What he saw made the blood in his little body boil.
Those assholes were at it again. But this time they had cornered some tiny little girl with interesting midnight colored hair. She was curled up in a ball, fists rubbing her tearful eyes as the three bullies hollered their taunts.
"Show us your creepy eyeballs Hyuga!"
"Not so strong now are you?!"
"You some kind of stupid monster or something?"
That does it! Naruto could take it when they yelled their awful insults, after all he was going to become Hokage someday and show everyone, dattebayo! But picking on this girl was just pure bullshit!
"Hey dickwads! Wassa matter, got tired of eating your boogers and decided making little girls cry was more fun? I always figured you sissies were too useless to pick a real fight!" The energetic blond punctuated his statement by lobbing three rapid fire snowballs straight into the boys' faces as they turned to address the source of the screaming.
Naruto smirked as he landed neatly in front of the trembling girl, blocking her with his body. Hee hee bullseye dumbasses. His cockiness stuttered a bit as he got an up close view of his opponents. They looked bigger from down here. He gulped as he realized that these were academy students, not the usual playground pipsqueaks. Oh shit!
"Oh ho! Looks like the little weakling is the village idiot's girlfriend! I bet they live in a cave together with all their retarded monster babies!" Jeered the kid who seemed to think himself the leader, while the other two boys pantomimed drooling hunchbacks and staggered around.
Naruto was so furious he was snarling. "Knock it off you piece of shit!"
"Make me demon spawn!" And a melee erupted.
Hinata peered between her fingers in awe and horror as the blond boy began to rain ballistic punches on the little gang. She wanted to run but couldn't bring herself to abandon her savior. Unfortunately, the three bullies soon overwhelmed the screaming boy and proceeded to tear his scarf to shreds as he flailed around on the ground trying in vain to gain some kind of upper hand.
"Stop! Stop it! Leave him alone!" she whimpered, but was completely ignored. She wrung her hands as she anxiously tried to think of a way to intervene.
Suddenly a blur of brown hair collided with the largest bully, knocking him back several feet onto his ass. The others turned to see who had decided to join the fight but froze when they saw the piercing cold eyes of the Byakugan staring back at them. "You are within my range," came the stern threat. The infamous stance of The Gentle Fist combined with a merciless glare had the other two bullies freezing mid swing.
"Shit, it's a real Hyuga! RUN!" Snow sprayed through the air as the erstwhile tormentors fled into the forest. Hinata quickly brushed past the scowling new arrival and rushed to help the unknown blond sit up.
Naruto groaned as he rubbed his cheek and tried to focus on the blurry figure kneeling next to him. After blinking a few times, dainty features with wide pale eyes that reminded him of moons came into focus. He gazed at her mouth as she spoke, but his rattled brain couldn't quite make sense of her words. She's cute, he thought dazedly.
"Neji-niisan, is he going to be ok?" Hinata glanced up at her cousin, worriedly biting her bottom lip. The older boy rolled his eyes but before he could answer, the kid seemed to shake the cobwebs from his brain and started to try and stand up. Hinata steadied him as best she could, gripping his hand tightly as she leaned in again to peer into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. She got a good look at her original savior. He's cute, the thought had a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Who are you?" Neji asked from behind her, already sizing up this scrawny kid who somehow was shorter than his own petite cousin, but the smile the boy beamed at them was big and genuine.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna be the next Hokage, dattebayo!" The enthusiastic introduction had Hinata giggling and he turned to her, looking at their joined hands. She gasped slightly and yanked her hand away, timidly tapping her fingertips together as she mumbled, "M-my name is Hyuga Hinata, and this is m-my cousin, Hyuga Neji. Th-thank you for helping me. You d-didn't have to do that." She bowed her head slightly in appreciation, but also to hide the deepening pink on her face.
Naruto looked at her like she had just said pigs could fly, "Why not? They were hurting you, of course I had to stop them. Someday I'm going to be a super strong ninja and make sure nobody gets hurt ever again!" Neji couldn't suppress a snort at the ridiculous statement. As the blond turned narrowed eyes on her cousin Hinata smoothly interjected, "I c-can replace your scarf Uzumaki-san, as thanks f-for your help."
He blinked at her offer, surprise coloring his features. "Nah its fine," he grinned and rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish way. "It was super scratchy, I don't really need it, I guess..." Naruto stared at Hinata's pale eyes. They almost looked lavender when she smiled that way. He'd never seen anybody with eyes like that before. They seemed much more alive compared to those of her cousin next to her, as if they could express a thousands thoughts in a heartbeat without ever saying a word. Hinata was equally intrigued by the whisker marks framing his easy smile. There was something about him that just felt nice. He wasn't looking at her like she was a freak or something.
"Ah-HEM," Neji cleared his throat before the two bored holes in each other's faces with their staring. "Hinata-sama, my father will be worried if we don't get home soon. Good bye Uzumaki-san, thank you again."
Hinata acknowledged her cousin with tiny nod, unable tear her eyes away from Naruto's friendly face as she was pulled back towards the compound. The blond boy raised his hand in farewell and gifted her with a smile as bright as the sun while calling out, "Just call me Naruto, dattebayo!"
Rounding the bend Neji couldn't hold back his chuckle. "Hokage? Sounds like delusions of grandeur to me. Did you see the lump he was already growing on his head?" Hinata raised a brow at her smirking cousin.
Tilting her head she coyly asked, "Neji-niisan, you don't even know the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms technique yet, do you?" She smiled knowingly at him.
The older boy crossed his arms with a pout. "They don't know that."
--
It was time! Finally, after watching for a full week, he'd found his opening. This family sure was weird, always patrolling their compound like they guarded Kami's secrets themselves. Sheesh. And he was not a stalker! Those losers were the perverts who lurked around the bath houses giggling like idiots. Naruto was just trying to see his friend! At least he thought she was a friend? I hope she is...
It had been a few weeks ago, when Naruto had first seen her again after the incident in the woods. She was walking through the market with an older man who looked like her father. Overjoyed at the familiar face, the boy had exuberantly bounced through the crowd, garnering no small amount of curses (which he ignored as always) before landing in front of the two Hyuga with unusual grace for a child.
"Hi there Hinata!! Whatcha doin?" The exclamation had been as abrupt as his entrance and the girl had squeaked as she ducked behind the man's white kimono. Naruto had blinked, leaning around to look at her flushed face more closely, "Hinata? Are you sick or something?"
"Hinata-sama is a bit shy is all. And who may you be?" the deep voice of the man surprisingly held no malice in it and Naruto stepped back to look up at the tall figure with the long dark hair. Silver eyes gazed down at him, no hatred betrayed in their depths, and a patient aura surrounded him as he gently rested a comforting hand on Hinata's back to draw her forward.
"N-Naruto-kun is the boy I told you about, Ojisan. The one who s-stopped the boys in the woods." Having remembered how to breathe, Hinata had finally found her words, but still poked her fingertips together timidly. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and flashed one of those amazingly bright grins that Hinata found so mesmerizing, "Nah it was nothin' for the future Hokage of Konoha, believe it!" The blond's attention refocused on the girl with the fascinating eyes and he missed the twist of Hizashi's mouth as he smothered a laugh.
"Are y-you hungry, Naruto-kun? We s-stopped to get some cinnamon buns on our way to go m-meet Neji-niisan at the academy, he's a f-first year." Hinata was proud of herself for getting so many words out in a row. She usually was so nervous around strangers that she could only stutter incoherently. But there was something about this loud boy that just drew her to him. She slipped the bag off her arm and extended it to Naruto. "They're m-my favorite. But Neji-niisan d-doesn't like them, he says they're t-too messy and sweet."
"Sounds perfect to me! Thanks Hinata! You're awful nice!" Naruto licked his lips and he plucked one of the pastries from the sack. No kid has ever shared their own food with me before, he thought with glee as he loudly gulped down the treat.
Hizashi watched the children chatter, well, the loud blond chattered, Hinata mostly just giggled. He studied the spiky bright hair and the marks on the boy's round cheeks. Ah, so he is that child. I see. He bears quite a resemblance to that man, the council must be blind. Glancing around the market area he saw the looks of hatred being cast at the child and frowned. The fools didn't seem to know the difference between a kunai and a sealing scroll. Naruto appeared unaware or uncaring of all the negative attention, his face radiating joy as he animatedly described to an awestruck Hinata some prank he had just pulled off. This time Hizashi couldn't suppress a small smile. This interesting duo would bear watching. If his suspicions about Naruto's background were ever proven to be true, he indeed could be looking at the future Hokage. If he possessed half the bravery that Hinata accredited to him, and could actually execute the elaborate stunts he was currently bragging about, his promises could very well be worth acknowledgment. Yes, worth watching indeed.
"Come, Hinata-sama, we must be on our way. It was a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-kun." Hizashi reached for her tiny hand and she blushed again as she quickly bowed to smiling boy, who waved and hollered his thanks for the pastries. Naruto watched them disappear in the direction of the ninja academy. I hope I can see her again soon.
Another two weeks had passed before Naruto was able to find her again. He had first tried posting up outside the academy, thinking he would catch her and her cousin, hoping they would want to go play at the playground. It was kind of one of his dreams, to play with friends until the sun went down. But they had never showed, and when Naruto had finally seen Neji one day, the older boy had informed him that Hinata-sama was very busy with clan duties and couldn't be bothered to walk him home from school everyday. This had Naruto sulking, especially when Neji declined his invite to come play anyways. He had been ready to shuffle off and head down to walk the riverbanks alone when he heard a long-suffering sigh behind him.
"If you wish to walk with me, that would be acceptable," Neji mumbled. He personally found the endlessly energetic blond to be a bit overstimulating, but his father had encouraged him and his cousin to give the boy a chance, and ignore the inexplicable animosity that it seemed most people directed the blond's way.
Approaching the compound entrance, Naruto whistled in appreciation. "Holy cow, this is your home? This place is HUGE. Who are you people anyways?" Neji's eye had started to twitch and a sharp retort was on his lips when he saw who was on gate duty at the compound today. Frowning, he recognized the two as Hyuga chunin who took no small pleasure is belittling anyone they thought would give their ego's a boost. Definitely the kind of people Naruto should avoid.
Neji stopped walking and Naruto did the same, following his gaze to the teenagers standing by the entrance. With sharp instincts honed from shouldering so much contempt in such a short life, he quickly understood why Neji had paused. His shoulders slouched and he began turn away, kicking a rock with his shoe in frustration. "I, um, guess I'll just see you around..."
"Wait here." Neji disappeared without any further explanation, leaving Naruto to stare in confusion. "The hell..?"
Curiosity had him nearly twitching with anticipation by the time Neji returned with a small parcel in his hand. Poorly hiding his exasperation at being reduced to a messenger boy, Neji had thrust the thing at Naruto and hurriedly stated, "Its from Hinata-sama. Ever since, that day, she has been forbidden from leaving the compound without a proper escort. I have to go train now, so, there it is. Good bye Naruto." Blue eyes, wide as saucers, gleamed with unbridled joy as Naruto's hands reached out to grasp the gift as if it were made of glass. As annoying as this all was, Neji had to admit to himself as he strode back into the compound, that the look of wonder on the blond's face was one of the most heartwarming things he had ever seen.
Naruto had managed to contain himself until he was up in his favorite tree in the forest on the edge of the village, far from the evil glares of the matrons and grabbing hands of the other kids at the orphanage. Carefully opening the paper he almost dropped the note that was tucked into the softest, warmest, most beautiful red scarf he had ever seen. He buried his face in the cozy garment and inhaled deeply. "Cinnamon buns," he murmured, and smiled softly. He could hardly read the note through his watering eyes.
Naruto-kun,
Thank-you again for saving me. I knitted you this scarf to replace the one that was ruined. My Kaa-san taught me. I hope you like the color.
Hinata
"No one has made me anything before," he murmured. Wrapping his treasure securely around his neck, he looked in the direction of the Hyuga Estate. "Hinata," he whispered to the wind, for it was the only one listening. Does this mean they are friends? This is something friends do for each other, right? Kami, he really wanted to call her his friend!
"There's only one way to find out, dattebayo!" Leaping from the branch and landing neatly in a crouch, just like he always did, Naruto tore off in the direction of the massive compound. He would find a way to talk her himself, no matter how long he had to wait!
It had all come down to this moment, he had carefully picked tonight as the night he would finally confront Hinata and ask her to be his friend. If she couldn't come to him, then he would go to her. Simple right? It sure as hell would be easier if those jerks at the gate would just chill out.
Naruto leapt from tree to tree, careful not to rain snow down onto the street below and alert the Hyugas to his presence. All he had to do was get past the guards while they were distracted during shift change and he was in business! In all of his eagerness, the problem of actually finding Hinata once he made it into the compound had not yet dawned on him.
In the dim lighting of the starry night Naruto closed in on the gate. But before he was able make his move, he noticed something was off. The guards were laying down? What the heck...
Blood. Naruto smelled it, unmistakable in the clear cold air. Shit! Who the--
His thoughts were cut off as his keen eyes caught sight of a dark figure disappearing around the far corner of the compound and heading for the forest. Not good, not good, not good!
Thinking fast, Naruto grabbed one of his favorite exploding prank pouches, a really loud one filled with orange paint that he'd been saving for that one asshole who'd thrown the rotten produce at him the other day. He chucked it as hard as he could in the direction of the unconscious guards, knowing that the other patrolling Hyuga would hear it and activate their Byakugan thingys to investigate. Turning, he took off after the fleeing shadow, not pausing to look back and admire his handiwork when he hears the paint bomb explode.
Naruto knows the forests better than most, it is his playground, his second home, and his way to get from place to place on a daily basis whilst avoiding as much exposure to the villagers as possible. This knowledge serves him well, for now he is easily closing in on what he assumes has to be a ninja, based on the way they move through the trees, albeit with more hesitancy. And what the heck is on his back?
Whatever it is, even the burly ninja is struggling to maintain his hold of it. He suddenly drops to the ground and growls as he hurls the bag over his shoulder and into the snow.
"Little bitch! How dare you bite me!" He screams and paws open the bag, which had been suspiciously rolling around. When Naruto sees the unmistakable shine of the uniquely midnight blue hair in the moonlight, his heart stops. No, not her!
The boy frantically scrabbles for his make shift "ninja" pouch that he keeps with a few shuriken and one kunai that he scavenged from the training grounds. His hands tremble as he hurriedly ties his last prank pouch to the loop of the kunai. He hears her screaming and glancing up, nearly drops the whole bag at the sight of her clawing and kicking at the overpowering shinobi who is attempting to pin her down and gag her.
Kami please, if you have any pity for me whatsoever, don't let me miss!
Naruto quickly wipes his sweaty hand on his pants and grips the kunai. He's been practicing out in the woods, but the adrenaline now coursing through his veins is nearly choking him.
Kidnapper and Rescuer unconsciously mirror each other as they simultaneously draw back their arms to deliver deadly blows. Both intending to send their victim to oblivion.
Hinata knows she's done. The beast is obscenely bigger than her, and no matter how hard she struggles there is no escaping the bruising grip around her neck as he pins her to the snow. The gag around her face is stifling to the point where she is ready to pass out. Time seems to slow down when she looks up from under sweaty bangs to see his fist cocked. She feels the cold bite of the snow on her back. The rank smell of his body odor surrounds her. Her muffled screams turn to sobs and bile burns the back of her throat. The stars twinkle mockingly, ignoring her desperation as a kunai slashes through the air behind him. Wait, what?
The world goes white for an instant and in the confusion she hears the ninja bawling curses at the unknown attacker. Hinata kicks her heels into the ground, trying to put distance between herself and the ninja, awkwardly attempting to wipe her eyes with her sleeve despite her bound wrists.
"You piece of shit! I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands!" the kidnapper is practically frothing with rage as he spins to face a small figure in a bright red scarf that has just landed several yards away. Hinata freezes in her attempts to crawl away when she hears a familiar voice scream, "It's not my fault your fat ass is too big to miss! Let my friend go or there's more where that came from!"
Naruto pulls out the last of his pouch's contents and strikes his most menacing shinobi pose, shuriken held at the ready in each hand. He's bluffing, but he's hoping it will be enough to allow Hinata a window of escape. She just needs to keep moving damnit! This guy will probably tear through him in seconds, but it'll be worth it if she can get away. I cannot lose my first friend! Naruto risks a glance in her direction and blue eyes lock onto silver. She looks terrified, frozen. He gives her a wink, and a grin that's a bit shaky before hurling the shuriken with all his might.
"Pathetic," the ninja chuckles as he easily bats them away with his own kunai. "What else was I expecting from the Leaf but weak little wannabe warriors. Now it's my turn." As the man's hands began to fly through seals, Naruto swallowed hard and looked once more at Hinata. GO he mouthed at her and saw her take a hesitant move backward, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The man had finished and was yelling the name of some jutsu. Naruto tensed he legs to jump as high he could in a last ditch effort to avoid whatever kind of death was headed his way. Before his body could obey his brain he was enveloped in bright vortex. He grit his teeth expecting an explosion of pain, but all he felt was the rush of chakra around him, and the sound of a voice yelling Kaiten!
From his knees, Naruto gaped upwards as a Hyuga ruthlessly assaulted the kidnapper. The hail of palm strikes was so fast he couldn't track them, blood spewed from the man's mouth. Naruto scrambled across the snow towards Hinata, who was also staring that the brutal attack.
"Are you ok Hinata? Come here, let me help you," Naruto forced his voice to be calm, the poor girl was nearly hyperventilating. His chubby fingers fumbled a bit with the knot but he was able to free her from the gag at last. Just then he heard the unmistakable crack of bones breaking. The two children held each other as they turned to see the Hyuga deliver a final strike to the ninja's chest that nearly exploded out his back. The body collapsed to the ground, a black shadow against the bluish glow of the snow.
"Hinata, Naruto, are you hurt?" Hizashi was instantly on his knees running hands over both children's heads. Hinata could only whimper, the traumatic events having long since robbed her of words. Naruto answered for them both. "I'm fine, the bastard tied her up, but I didn't see him hit her." A kunai made quick work of the ropes around her wrists and Hinata was in her Ojisan's arms in a heartbeat. Hizashi gently shushed her, murmuring soothing words of comfort while Naruto sighed, taking in all the emotions. So this is what it's like, to be loved...
Hizashi reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, clasping it firmly and startling him. Blue eyes leveled to his gaze, and Hizashi saw the longing barely hidden within them. "Thank you, again, Naruto-kun, for saving Hinata-sama. I am forever in your debt," his hand moved to ruffle the wild blond locks. "You will be a formidable Hokage one day," he smiles gently as the boy's eye light up with a determination and pride that brings up images of another blond shinobi Hizashi once knew.
Running footsteps can be heard approaching and Hizashi's expression turns serious. "You need to go, Naruto-kun. What is going to happen now will bring you more danger than glory. Tell no one what you saw." Naruto nearly objected but Hizashi's silver gaze turned to steel and he knew the man would brook no arguments. He nodded quickly and smiled at Hinata from where she peered out from her uncle's embrace. "Th-thank you Naruto-kun, you're a w-wonderful friend," whispered, and Naruto blushed the whole way home.
