A Lifelong Partner
Good god! The internet has been set ablaze by NaruHina. The feels are too friggin much for me. My Kokoro can't take any more of this. Someone save me. Actually you know what, don't save me. Let me just fall into this NaruHina abyss.
Naruto and Hinata walked to the beach. Since it was night time there was no other person to be seen besides the two of them. When they finally got to the edge of the water Hinata extended her hand towards Naruto and he grabbed it in response with one hand while carrying his rather heavy bag with the other.
"I've set it so that my ship will be picking us up a bit further into the ocean just so that no one else finds out about it." Hinata told Naruto, to which he nodded. "Let us move forward."
As if it was a normal occurrence, Hinata started to walk forward into the water with Naruto. But miraculously, rather than the two of them sinking they were both walking on the surface of the water. The two walked somewhat further before finally coming to a halt.
"Even though I've done this many times in the past with you, I don't think I can ever get used to the fact that you Hyuyans can naturally walk on water like this, let alone the fact that you can pass on that ability to anyone else just by making contact with them." Naruto looked down below only to confirm that they were no longer in the shallow region. It was only going to get even deeper from here on out.
"To us it is pretty normal since we live in a world that is predominantly water." Hinata replied. "Not to mention, it isn't just being able to walk on water, we're able to freely control water in any way we wish, just like this…"
She raised her hand to point towards the horizon and as if on cue a fast moving current of water carried the two further into the ocean at an incredible speed. It was an amazing feeling to have the ocean wind blow past you and before long they came to a stop at a point where the land could no longer be seen. As far as the eyes went there was water alone.
"We're ready." Hinata gave Naruto a quick glance and he now grabbed on to Hinata's forearm as she pushed both of her hands to her sides, as far as possible. Suddenly the entire sea started raging, tremendous waves forming all around them looking like it would swallow them whole. But staying true to her ability, Hinata kept the waters surrounding them in check. It was at this point that Hinata's ship became visible directly overhead.
The spaceship was truly massive, covering an entire section of the sky above. It was similar to a jet aircraft in shape but its wings extended all the way to the back of the ship and were just as thick as the central hull. This was because all of the fuel was actually stored and used in the wings. Two very large panels were open on the underside of each wing, one panel sucking in air like an incredibly powerful vacuum while the other expelled the air downwards with tremendous force, which is what caused the water below to rage uncontrollably. However this allowed the spaceship to currently hover in mid-air.
Naruto and Hinata were standing directly underneath the very front of the ship and an intense beam of light shone upon them from above, making the two float upwards towards their destination. Within a few moments they had already reached the source of the light, an open panel below the front of the ship and the two entered the spacecraft from that entrance. As soon as they got inside, the panel below them closed allowing them to safely land inside the ship.
"Quickly take us to orbit." Hinata ordered and instantly the ship became invisible from the outside once again and rose up from the Earth's surface at an incredible speed. In a matter of seconds they were freely orbiting in space just outside of Earth. At this point the panels underneath the wings of the spacecraft also closed seeing as there was no air in space and also because they didn't need to hover above the surface of the planet any longer.
They were currently in the control room of the space ship. It was a medium sized room that had screens in all of its walls and ceilings showing the space outside. One could see the Earth in its full glory through those screens. When viewed from this position, the Earth appeared in all of its natural glory that was unaltered by man, and truly did hold up to its reputation among the alien races of being the natural blue beauty.
"I always found it amazing how I don't feel any difference in gravity while coming out of Earth." Naruto said while looking around the control room after so many years. "Every person who managed to travel outside of Earth told the story of how stressful it can be on the body to leave from the influence of Earth's gravity into zero gravity in space."
"The gravity inside of this ship is artificially controlled and kept constant, so any changes outside will not affect the people inside." Hinata explained.
"I figured. In any case, she hasn't said anything yet. Where is she? I know she's observing me right now. She's about to pull something. I just know it." Naruto looked around as though he was paranoid about something. "HIMAWARI! Where are you? I know you're up to no good and it won't work. So just reveal yourself already."
But Naruto's words went to deaf ears. There was no reply. So he quickly walked out through the door of the control room and into a large hall room. This room consisted of a lounge with sofas and other seating arrangements as well as a large hologram panel in the middle where holograms of people and other things could appear. It was used for entertainment purposes like a TV, but holograms were of course more lifelike and realistic. This room also had a number of doors that led to other areas to the ship, namely the bedroom that consisted of a toilet, the dining room that was attached to the kitchen, the two fuel rooms on the wings of the ship, the bathing facilities and more.
Naruto dashed into the bedroom to look around only to find nothing. He quickly peeked into the toilet but nothing there either. He then ran into the dining area but the place was completely empty, as was the kitchen. He went from one fuel room to the other but those places were just as he last remembered them, stacked with tons upon tons of canisters of fuel used for various purposes. These storage facilities were as lifeless as ever.
"Where is she?" He asked himself as he walked back into to the hall room once again.
Naruto's next target became the bathing facilities. As he walked in through the doors he felt a weird presence. The bathing area was massive. It was almost like an indoors hot spring resort with a big pool of perfectly lukewarm water in which to relax and a large open showering area in front of it. Naruto tiptoed carefully through the showering area until he reached the edge of the pool. He looked into the water and this was the moment he fell victim to his own prey.
Suddenly a shower of icy cold water rained down upon him from the entire ceiling above, the shock from it sending Naruto tumbling straight into the pool.
"HAHA! I GOT YOU! I GOT YOU!" The cheers of a young girl could be heard reverberating around the entire bathing facility through the speakers.
Naruto climbed out of the pool of water fuming with rage. "DARN IT HIMAWARI! AGAIN! SAME TRICK AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!"
"Baka…baaaakaaaa!" She said while continuing on laughing.
"I'll get you back alright. I'll get you back right now."
"Try if you can."
Naruto stormed out of the facility and towards the control room once again until he stood in front of Hinata who looked perplexed from seeing a completely dripping Naruto.
"I'm sorry for this Hinata-chan, but please bear with me for a bit." He grabbed the zipper at the front of Hinata's bulky jacket and slid it all the way down. He then went behind her and pulled the jacket off her, revealing the white shirt she was wearing underneath. The shirt was slightly different in that it did not have any buttons at the front but rather a zipper at the back. Hinata didn't quite understand what Naruto was up to until he suddenly pulled the zipper of her shirt down as well, exposing her back completely.
"Kya…" Hinata instinctively gave a little squeak as she felt Naruto's cold wet hands touch her bare skin.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Himawari's voice now became a bit shaky. "You aren't going to…"
Before she could finish Naruto grabbed on to something hard just above the skin over Hinata's spine. Instantly a metallic external spinal cord became visible. This external spinal cord which the Hyuyans called "exounits" was directly attached through the skin to Hinata's real spinal cord all the way from the back of her neck to about the tailbone.
Every Hyuyan had an exounit attached to them at birth which would grow along with them. The exounit not only provided increased physical capabilities among other benefits, but it also housed a supercomputer that had an accompanying A.I. (artificial intelligence) with it, which would help their host with every day to day task. As such Himawari was Hinata's A.I partner. Furthermore since the exounit was directly connected to a person's spinal cord which in turn was connected to the brain, it was like having a supercomputer that could be controlled by the brain.
Naruto now clutched on to the exounit with his hand. "It's time for my revenge."
"NO NO NO!" Himawari screamed in fear. "PLEASE DON'T DO THAT! IT'LL HURT THE PRINCESS! I'M SORRY! I'M REALLY SORRY FOR WHAT I DID! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"
Naruto paused for a moment before smiling. "That was too easy. I got you good this time huh Himawari? You didn't actually think I was going to hurt Hinata now did you? But I guess I'll accept your apology since even when you were in trouble, the first person you thought about was Hinata. I admire that about you…even if you're just an A.I."
The sound of Himawari crying now filled the entire room through the speakers. "Y-Y-You're so mean. W-Why would you scare me like that? I don't care what happens to me…but…but the princess is the most precious person to me…ever. You're such a horrible person." Himawari's attention now turned to Hinata. "Princess, tell him something."
"Now Naruto-kun, I know the two of you have a little rivalry going on but please don't be too harsh towards her." Hinata said to Naruto with a serene smile. "Himawari is special. She isn't just any A.I to me Naruto-kun, because she is a precious memento from my mother."
"A memento from your mother?" Naruto was a bit surprised to hear that. "I don't think you've ever told me about this."
"As you know, every Hyuyan receives their own exounit and an accompanying A.I shortly after their birth. They grow up with that A.I, becoming familiar with each other. But the A.I that most Hyuyans receive are stock ones which are all the same and are only capable of fulfilling a certain set of tasks just like any machine. But Himawari is different."
"How so?" Naruto was getting even more curious.
"You see, my mother used to be a very talented and renowned A.I programmer. The A.I she built were much more advanced and multi-faceted than any other. They were one of a kind. Because of that the ones she produced were used by large organisations and very important personnel from races across the universe. As you already know, my mother passed away shortly after giving birth to my younger sister when I was very young. So I don't remember much about her. What I do know however is that before she passed away she produced one final A.I that she called the pinnacle of her work. She made that A.I specifically for me, having only completed it on her deathbed. She worked on Himawari until the very end, wanting it to be a parting gift from mother to daughter. That is why Himawari is so special. She is capable of showing emotions that no other A.I can. She is dedicated to me unlike any other A.I is to their host. In fact Himawari is more than just an A.I; she is an invaluable lifelong partner and a manifestation of my mother's love for me."
"Princess Hinata…" Himawari couldn't even speak any more, bursting into what appeared to be another fit of tears.
Naruto was also lost for words. The story truly touched him inside. The love of a mother for her child was truly amazing. The parting gift of a mother to her child…it inadvertently made him wonder whether his own mother loved him like that or even left him something somewhere. But those thoughts quickly met a dead end as they always did in the past. His situation was different. He was abandoned at birth. It was more likely that his parents probably didn't even want him. But he would never know. So he had decided a long time ago to stop thinking about these matters because he didn't want to hate his parents. After all, his parents were the ones who brought him into this world. And no matter what may have happened, he was still always thankful to them for that.
"Naruto-kun, what's the matter?" Hinata's voice snapped him out of his daze.
"Ah it's nothing. I was just thinking how much your mother must have loved you. After hearing that story I think I'll also look at Himawari in a different light from now…but I don't think that'll end our rivalry though. I love you more than her."
"I wouldn't want our rivalry to end." Himawari was now back to her usual peppy self. "I love the princess more after all. It is how I was programmed. Because the princess' mother couldn't be with her, she made it so that I could give the princess that love in her stead."
"I love her more."
"No I love her more."
"I said I love her more."
And thus the two kept arguing, as always.
"Now you two, I think that's enough. Let us relax for a bit. You can settle this later." Hinata decided to break the argument up as always and sighed a breath of relief. "By the way, we're already on our way if you didn't notice. We should be at Hyuya in approximately 24 hours."
At her prompt Naruto looked at the screens and saw that the distant stars now appeared like white streams whizzing past them and it was as if the space ship was travelling through a tunnel.
"Princess, you didn't have to do the work. I could have set us on course." Himawari protested.
"It's no big deal Himawari. I set us off when the two of you were playing your little hide and seek game earlier in the bathing area. Actually speaking of that, Naruto-kun you're soaking wet. Let's get you dried up before you catch a cold."
The two of them walked back into the bathing room and a warm wind containing an instant drying agent flowed down upon Naruto, drying him up within moments.
When they got out Naruto noticed a door in the hall room that he had not seen before. He opened the door only to find a very large dojo-like facility used for training.
"I don't remember there being this training room before. Did you renovate the ship?"
"Yes, I had this training room added to the ship." Hinata's face now assumed a serious expression. "I've been training quite hard because I've realised that I need to be strong to protect those that I love."
"Wow, I didn't think you were the kind of person who liked to fight. I guess there's much more I need to learn about you Hinata." Naruto said excitedly. "And I think there is a lot one can learn by engaging another in combat. Therefore, let us have a battle."
Naruto's sudden proclamation came as a complete shock to Hinata. "Eh?"
"It is as I said Hinata." Naruto clarified. "I challenge you to a fight."
So yes, since all of you pretty much unanimously identified the special person who Hinata wanted Naruto to meet correctly, I guess I'll leave you with a new question to ponder this time. Knowing who Himawari is and the fact she was a gift left by Hinata's mother, who do you think Bolt is?
I do love my Naru-Hina parallels. He-He!
And next time, Naruto and Hinata engage in their first battle. I think it'll be a good change of pace with some nice surprises hopefully.
Anyway, I shall see you all next time. Until then, don't get buried alive in all the NaruHina.