Alright, did I mention that Hinata will be a bit OOC in this fic? No? Well, she is. Since her family isn't constantly tearing her down. She's still quiet, but her stutter isn't really as harsh.

Actually, everyone's a bit OOC here. But not too much. And if they start out different from canon, then their OG personality will most likely shine through in later chapters.

I'm not satisfied with this chapter either, but like the last one, I don't know how to make it better. And I'm not really confident in how my story is progressing when it comes to the chapters I wrote already. I do everything to make you guys happy so I'm trying my absolute hardest to make this story more enjoyable.

(IM SORRY MOST OF THESE AUTHOR NOTES AT THE BEGINNING WILL BE YEARS LONG! THERE'S ALWAYS SO MUCH TO EXPLAIN!)

~Enjoy~


Wind blew as a field filled with an abundance of puffy white flowers swayed violently with the breeze.

The orange evening sun cast a beautiful fiery hue on all it touched and Hinata couldn't help but admire the welcoming feeling of the evening.

"Hinata."

Startled, she looked around frantically for the young voice she knew so well yet didn't know at all.

"Don't you remember me? Hinata?"

Lost as to where the voice was coming from, Hinata attempted to yell, but found herself suddenly unable to do so, throat constricting uncomfortably.

The sun started to set a lot faster than any normal sunset, letting the moon take it's place in a matter of seconds, darkness replacing the once warm orange glow and chill replacing the comfortably heated summer day.

"You don't remember me do you..."

That... came from directly behind her.

Fear gripping at her chest and heart racing, Hinata turned ever slowly, dreading what her eyes would find.

Her pale orbs rested onto a child, no older than 10 maybe. They were faceless, save for their mouth, which had oddly sharp canine teeth.

Abruptly, she blinked and the faceless child was right in front of her, their hot breathe tingling on her skin ominously.

"You don't remember me do you... Hinata..."

The world went black.


Cars rumbled on the streets below and freezing gales rattled windows as sleepy groans escaped from a dark blue lump splayed out on the polished wooden floor of its home.

The lump shifted suddenly, turning onto its- her -back and stretching out her limbs with a stiff groan of satisfaction. Releasing a tired breath, the young woman carefully opened her eyes before shutting them again due to the bright morning light assaulting her nearly invisible pupils.

Moaning in annoyance, the woman moved to face her back to the window, hoping to avoid the light for the time being.

'Ughhhhh... what time is it even? What kind of dream was that? And why am I on the floor?' She thought as she sleepily heaved herself up and into a sitting position. Yawning and rubbing her eyes in an effort of ridding her mind of its fog, she opened them again. However, instead of the dark brown leathered furniture she expected to see, her pale purple orbs were met with dark crystal blue ones staring sideways right back at her.

Temporarily and out of pure shock, her mind froze, failing miserably to properly register the extra person in the place she lived alone in.

A few more seconds of delay had her eyes widening into the size of saucers as memories flooded back.

The library.

Snow.

Heading home.

Yelps of pain.

Blood.

Her phone was dying.

He was injured.

Bringing him home.

Tending to his wounds.

Falling asleep on the floor.

Gasping sharply, Hinata bolted to her feet, startling the mystery blond.

"Y-y-yo-you're t-t-h-th-the p-p-p-person I f-f-found a a-a-and y-y-you were d-dying and-and-and-" The blue haired teen tried to say, horribly butchering her sentence at the sight of the stranger lying on her couch covered in bandages.

Shifting, the strange man gave a low, poorly concealed grunt of pain, breaking her out of her spell and snapping her mind into, what Hanabi dubbed when they were little, 'mother-hen mode'.

Approaching the man, she sank down to her knees in front of the couch and pulled back the thin blanket covering him in order to get a better view of the wounds she tried her best treat.

"You shouldn't move too much, the injuries you had were pretty bad. How are you feeling? Are you cold at all? You were out in the snow for Kami-Sama knows how long and I thought you might've even begun developing hypothermia or something of the sort and-" the look of confusion he gave her during her rambling shut her up real quick.

"R-right, I'll slow down a bit. Uhmmm, here I'll grab you a heavier blanket, you should stay as warm as possible for now, okay?" Not really waiting for an answer, Hinata made her way over to her hallway closet and shuffled her fluffiest comforter out from under the piles of boxes covering it.

'I should probably take my shoes off soon, I really don't want to clean the floors more than I already have to.'

Taking the time to walk over to her door and slip her dark blue snow boots off at the entrance, Hinata trotted her way back into the living room where she found the mystery man staring blankly at the ceiling as he laid on his back.

"Here, I got the blanket. And, I know it may not be very important right now, but ummm... what kind of... accessories... are those?" She asked with blushing cheeks, sheepishly pointing to the top of her head in a way of making him understand what she was talking about.

The Hyuga got no verbal answer in return, however, she did get a fuzzy, blond, vulpine ear flicked her way... wait, ear flick?

Those were real?

Nearly dropping the blanket in her hands in shock, Hinata scrambled to keep the large piece of fabric secured in her arms as she looked at the mystery man in bewilderment.

"Y-y-you mean t-those are r-r-real?" She whispered, "b-b-but, how? I've never heard of such a thing being possible and I can clearly see you are just as human as me, at least, to some extent... how are you... how is that... how can that be...?"

Blue eyes shine with amusement at her outburst, but the longer she looked at them, the more she began identifying another emotion different from amusement.

It seemed like it was... sadness?

Disappointment?

Guilt?

Fear?

It was a negative feeling, that's all she knew.

Walking cautiously up to the strange man beast person on her couch, she unfolded the blanket and placed it evenly across his form before taking a shy step back.

"Uhmmm... can you speak at all? Are you mute? Orrr... wait no, I'm sorry, that a bit insensitive, I shouldn't have asked-"

"Thank you."

A gruff voice cut her off, startling her greatly.

Realizing that the words said came from him, Hinata stammered out a response.

"T-thank you? For what?"

He seemed to hesitate a bit before answering, "The blankets...and...saving me."

Hinata was, to put it simply, very pleasantly surprised.

"O-oh! I just did what a-any good person would've done...ummm... what's your name?"

The negative feeling showing through his eyes seemed to increase when she asked, making her rethink her question.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. You can just tell me whenever you f-feel like it or you d-don't have to at all." Hinata tried to explain, waving her hands apologetically in front of her.

An extremely awkward silence formed between them, causing them both to look away from each other.

"My name is... Naruto." The man, Naruto, finally answered, causing Hinata to look up at him in disbelief as his canine-like ears twitched uncomfortably under her gaze.

"O-oh! Ok, Naruto-san. Ummm, do you have anyone I can call to come get you or-" the brief flash of terror that ran through his face had her quickly changing the subject.

"Or! A-are you hungry maybe? What would y-you like? I have a bit of left over k-katsudon and I have... not much. Uh, ok I guess I have to go shopping. Uhhhh..." she trailed off, glancing at anything except her guest, who was now looking at her strangely.

"I-uh-I think I might just go to t-the store. Do you like a-anything in particular? A dish of s-some sort?"

A brief shake of his head had her heading back to the front door to retrieve her coat, boots and wallet. Pausing for a second, Hinata looked back at the long, spiky haired man.

"W-would you like to come with me?"

A beat of silence had the teen rethinking her previous question.

'Again with the stupid questions, Hinata?' The girl kicked herself for forgetting about the young man's injuries so quickly.

"Right! You're hurt! I'm so sorry! I guess, I'll be back soon. Though, I'm not too keen on leaving you here by yourself." She bit her lip with uncertainty.

"I'll be fine." He said quietly.

"Are you sure?"

A nod.

Sighing a bit, Hinata opened the front door.

"Uh, the h-home phone is on the table beside you and my number is r-really the only contact on it so, please c-call me if you need anything, Naruto-san."

He nodded again.

Unsure of what else to say, Hinata left the apartment in Naruto's hands.

'Will he be alright alone? I shouldn't leave guests alone right? Does he even know how to use a home phone? Of course he does! He's not stupid... I think. And I only met him last night! Can I even trust him? What if he's dangerous?! What if... why do I feel like I can trust him? Have I met him before? He seems familiar, but I can't put my finger on it.'

Deciding to trust her gut this once, she locked the door and walked down the hall, towards the elevators, never once not worrying about the young man she left on her couch.


Naruto's POV

The digital clock on the table across from the blond kitsune changed numbers as time passed by.

11:39 AM

11:40 AM

Naruto's mind was too preoccupied to pay any attention to the clock, however.

His thoughts were in a whirlpool and his emotions were no better.

He got out.

He got away.

For how long?

He wasn't sure.

But, for the time being, that didn't matter.

Hinata.

The girl he first met lord knows how many years ago.

His first friend.

She was here.

He knew her scent by heart.

Her voice was something he couldn't possibly forget, even if time passed.

And he knew this was her.

She was alive.

She was well from what he could see.

And now, because of him, she was possibly in danger.

Naruto had no idea how long it would take the scientists to find him and capture him. Nor did he know what methods they would use in order to get to him. And he didn't care to find out either.

On the other hand, what he did care for was the fact that Hinata didn't seem to remember him at all. Not like how he remembered her.

It was clear she didn't know who he was, which ate away at his trust for her little by little as time went on.

She wasn't the same girl he knew all that time ago anymore from what he observed. She looked different, the way she carried herself was also different. Who's to say that those were the only things different about her? Who's to say she was still as trustworthy as she was when she was younger?

But, despite that, he still worried for her safety. Naruto hated that he put her in the way of people whom no one would ever want to encounter.

He really didn't know what he was supposed to feel anymore. Relieved that he made it out of that place? Angry that Hinata didn't remember him? Should he trust her because he did when they were younger? Should he not trust her since the last time he saw her was years ago and she could've changed? Naruto, for the life of him, couldn't figure it out.

Deeming it far too draining for his already tired mind to attempt to sort through his feelings and worries at the moment, he opted to get a good grasp on the change of scenery.

Turning his head slightly to the left, the teen took in his surroundings.

A small kitchen a little ways away with knives and needles and other things he couldn't identify-

The room he was in which he could only guess was a type of common room with a wooden table in the middle and blood dripping down his arms and onto the cool steel table beneath him as he watched them cut his arms and legs over and over and over and over and over and-

Shaking his head, trying to free himself of the memories that plagued him before he could fully panic, the blond began to focus on anything other than knives of all shapes and tables with straps holding him down and ch-

He was alone at the moment.

Hinata had gone out to get food.

His body was hurting. He was cold. He was achy. He was stiff. He was worried. He was disappointed. He was tired. He wished for sleep, but sleep kept evading him as his active mind just wouldn't shut down.

Hinata forgot about him. Could the way she reacted to his clear differences from the average human be counted as negative? It was different from how he remembered she reacted back when they were younger, that was for sure.

Was she thinking of hurting him? Calling the authorities and them calling the organization to come capture him again? Was she the reason he got caught again in the first place all those years ago? He didn't know. He wanted to believe so badly that she wouldn't do any of that.

But he couldn't be sure.

Not here.

Not in the position he was currently in.

She didn't remember him.

Who's to say she was still the same girl he remembered her to be?

Who's to say she was ever the girl he thought she was?

He knew he couldn't.

Because he knew he was different from the boy he was all that time ago.

When the organization found him, they put him through things he never experienced before hand, and things he never wanted to experience again.

They beat him, stuck needles in him, left him for days without food or water, had him fight for what he could've only guessed would be weeks on end, pushed various mysterious serums and fluids through his veins, had him train for hours and hours until his flames gave out and his knees buckled, leaving him with no way to defend himself when it was all over.

And all this for the sake of science.

For the greater good.

To protect the people of Konoha and their allies.

To become the greatest weapon.

Humans were selfish. Incredibly so and Naruto, honestly, didn't know if he would still be as remotely sane as he was today if he hadn't met Hinata. If she wasn't the only one to ever show him any positive affection.

She helped him in more ways than he could say, whether she knew about them or not.

And for that, he would be forever grateful.

However, now that she clearly couldn't recall who he was, she was a wildcard. And considering that he was now in the outside world, a place which he was basically clueless about other than the fact that there were a lot more people than he ever had the 'pleasure' of seeing. Therefore, whether he be turned over to the scientists again, be kicked to the streets or allowed to stay with Hinata was completely up to her unless Naruto took things into his own hands.

But he doubted that would happen anytime soon with his injuries. He guessed that even with accelerated healing his ailments would take at least a week to smooth over, and that week would be sure to promise pain.

So for that time, he was stuck here, completely in Hinata's hands.

And, to his own surprise, he was relatively fine with it for the time being, putting aside the risk of being captured when his guard was down.

Cold winter wind making the living room window tremble harshly before stopping again as silence stretched far in the room, Naruto let his healing body's needs take over for a while as his eyelids grew heavier with each passing second.

Taking one last glance at the vase of purple flowers resting on the small table in the hallway, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


~Hinata's POV~

With hands occupied by bags filled of groceries, Hinata fiddled with the apartment room key. Clumsily twisting in and opening the door before throwing her keys in the junk basket, slipping off her snow boots and closing the door again quietly.

Shyly trotting down the hall and into the entrance of the living room, Hinata called out.

"Naruto-san? I'm back. Do you need any...thing..." she trailed off as her eyes landed on the resting figure of the mystery fox man.

"Naruto-san?" She whispered, setting the bags on the kitchen table and walking as soundlessly as she could towards the blond.

To the Hyuga, the man looked, upon further inspection, quite troubled.

While his facial features might not show it, the presence around him seemed sporadic and off putting to Hinata.

He seemed... troubled, conflicted, confused, worried, wary, weary.

It was like a sort of aura surrounded him.

And the aura was what Hinata could only describe as a cold tranquility.


Yee haw, that's chapter two.

Sorry if the first two chapters seem a bit rushed. I'm not used to writing full on stories. Only oneshots and oneshot series.

Now, onto the recs.

Naruto FanFiction Recommendations:

| (common side effects) by katarinahime on Archive of Our Own

My own summary: Naruto has issues, a lot of issues. Hinata can't deal with them and leaves so he decides to fix himself, he gets her back but it's not all smooth riding from there on. Because what's life without a few hundred obstacles?

My thoughts: It's a pretty long fic but it's good and really draws you in. You feel the characters emotions as if they're your own and it has a good balance of action, drama, romance, humor, crime and friendship.

Pairings: NaruHina

Status:Unfinished|

{Hugs by ChaoticSimpleton on Wattpad

My own summary: Kakashi makes a decision and saves Naruto from a life of pain at the expense of becoming a missing-nin.

My thoughts: it's very well written and really cute. It's short and unfinished though, but still a good read.

Pairings: None

Status: Unfinished/Abandoned}

[Falling In Reverse by Syluk on Fanfiction. net

My own summary: The clashing of multiple god level jutsu creates a rip in time that Naruto slips right through. He encounters his father and his old team, but they're not the same. In fact, absolutely nothing is the same. And he's apparently dead too? How is he supposed to deal with a mess like this?

My thoughts: it's good, really good. It makes sense and it's easy enough to understand how he ended up in an alternative reality. It only has a few chapters so far but they're long chapters and it's not even done yet.

Pairings: Unknown

Status: Ongoing]