Chapter Six: Hinata Isn't All That Innocent
(Third Person)
"Hey Naruto?" Hinata asked as Naruto stepped into the school building; Iruka following behind Naruto.
"Hinata! What a sweet surprise?" Naruto hugged Hinata and picked her up. Hinata squealed and swatted Naruto's head.
"Down boy!" Hinata laughed and Naruto put her down gently.
"I wanted to ask you a question, about you know what." Hinata whispered the last part. Iruka raised a curious eyebrow but didn't question it, thinking high school drama.
"I have a class to teach. Don't be late to your first block, Naruto. Have a good day you two, see you in class." Iruka leaned over Naruto's shoulder and laid a tender kiss on Naruto's temple. Naruto beamed a brilliant smile at him and waved as Iruka left Hinata and Naruto alone.
Naruto waited till Iruka was out of sight before pulling Hinata closer to the lockers and spoke quietly. "I named the fox Kurama. And he's doing fine. Kakashi said he would stay home today and watch over him. Iruka doesn't know, yet. I plan on telling him when we get home tonight. So let's keep this a secret between us, okay?"
Hinata smiled and nodded her head. "Sure Naruto. It's our little furry secret." She giggled and Naruto snickered.
The bell rang through the school and the two made their way to class. Naruto couldn't wait to get home while Hinata was thinking up a storm.
{::}
Naruto was having a rough day, and was seeking the company of his fox. He texted Kakashi multiple times but got the same reply every time.
He's fine Naruto. Stop texting me while you are in class. I will tell Iruka. And that means no ramen. Bye! ;)
Naruto shivered. Damn pervert. Growling, Naruto turned his phone off and tucked in his back pocket.
His chemistry teacher had left class unexpectedly, so Naruto went to Orochimaru sensei biology class, where they were dissecting a frog.
Naruto had thrown up over the desk and sat in the nurse's office for that period. Iruka went to check on him, but was thrown out by Naruto for laughing at him and calling him a baby.
Then in Naruto's Trig class, Kurenai sensei had him solve a problem on the board, which he couldn't. He was embarrassed. Thank god Sasuke doesn't have this class with me. Naruto thought as he went to sit back down.
In economics, Naruto doozed off a few times, and decided to blow up Kakashi's phone until he sent a picture of Kurama to prove that he was alright. Same answer, no.
It was gym class that threw Naruto off today.
Naruto walked to the locker rooms with Lee, when he noticed bright red hair. A tall handsome figure was leaning against a locker in the men's locker room. He was already dressed in basketball shorts and a wife beater. Hot. Was all Naruto thought as they made their way to their lockers to change.
Naruto unlocked his locker and undressed to his boxers. He felt cold eyes roam his body, and he shivered, and then sneezed. Someone is talking about me.
Pulling on an orange shirt and black gym shorts, Naruto stuffed his school clothes in his locker and slammed it shut. He sat on a bench and pulled on his gym shoes and tied them tightly so he wouldn't trip over them like he did yesterday. He still has the bruise.
Naruto and Lee left the locker room when they were done dressing out. "So Bushy Brow, what do you think we are doing today?"
"I heard Gai sensei is having us run till our youthful selves drop." Lee pumped a fist in the air and a fire lit in his eyes.
Naruto gawked at him and groaned. Then a thought came to him. It's always fun teasing Lee. "Why doesn't Gai test your youthfulness somewhere else. Such as a bed."
Lee snapped out of his youth speech and gawked at Naruto. "I do not understand
you. How can Gai sensei test my youth in a bed?"
Naruto smirked and in a hushed voice answered. "Trust me Lee, there's many ways Gai can test your youth and his in a bed. Why don't you go ask him, I'm sure he would love to demonstrate a few ways for you." Naruto winked and gave Lee a thumb's up.
Lee gasped and the fire came back to his eyes. "Yes! I will do so. Thank you Naruto for your help. I will tell you how this youthful adventure turns out!" Lee gave Naruto a thumb's up and ran over to Gai sensei.
Naruto was laughing as he watched Lee speed towards the other green giant. That is until a cold voice broke him out of his glee. "You know, Gai could get fired for that?"
Naruto instantly knew the face and blushed. Sasuke was leaning over his shoulder and whispering in his ear. Naruto stuttered for a bit and felt his blush reach his ears. "And tell me, how would you know how to test one's youthfulness in a bed, when you yourself, don't do much of this testing in a bed?" Sasuke purred.
That shook Naruto out of his blush and to gawk. "Oh, really? And tell me, how would you know that?" When there was no answer, Naruto humphed and walked off to the football field, where the rest of the class was.
Sasuke followed and chuckled. He caught up to Naruto and walked next to him. "I'm still sorry about yesterday. Today is fine though, if you're still up for it." A hint of regret was laced in Sasuke's voice.
"Well, I will have to check with Iruka and Kakashi about an issue at home. Speaking of homes, how's Itachi?" Naruto didn't want to say no, but was worried about Kurama. He didn't want to say yes, tell Iruka about the fox, and then have to tell Sasuke no.
"Itachi?... Oh, you mean the dickless freak of a brother. He's fine, apparently, when we were living in my grandmother's house, he left an old photo album in his closet. And some other stuff that I never knew he had, but it's whatever now." Sasuke sounded annoyed at his brother, but still loved him.
Naruto giggled at Sasuke's antics. He would get so annoyed and impatient with someone, but he never denied a favor or needed help. Something Naruto loved about him.
"So what were the cat's?" Naruto still wanted to know what they were.
"Cat's? Ah jeez, I had thought Itachi was high for a second before he reminded me that the cat's where our grandparent's. They would always wear cat ears and tails, and added 'meow' to the end of every sentence." Sasuke rubbed his temples and sighed loudly.
On the football field, the duo walked around the class and to the back of their group. On the way there, Naruto was scanning the crowd for the new kid. He wanted to meet him. Red hair….
Finally, Naruto passed him. Said guy looked up and their eyes met and locked onto each others. Naruto instantly realized the same pain and loneliness he felt in this guy's eyes. Said guy has bright red hair that;s long and almost shaggy but brushed over his eyes, which are a beautiful blue green color, and he wore eyeliner around his eyes making the color pop.
But the eyes held so much emotion, and Naruto felt drawn to him. They were cold and menacing, but underneath the hate was a wounded heart. One Naruto knew very well. We're the same. Naruto thought to himself as time slowed. Naruto stopped walking and kept the man's stare.
Sasuke stopped next to Naruto, confused at his sudden stop. He followed his stare. His face twisted into a scowl as he noticed Naruto was looking at the new guy. Said man was looking at Naruto with cold eyes, and Sasuke didn't like it.
Sasuke noticed the cold eyes, laced with pain. But it drove Sasuke away. He recognized similar pain to his own, but this was on a level different from his.
This man was lied to his whole life, he was hated, and he only desired a friend. Sasuke still didn't like the way he was looking at Naruto, but his face softened. Naruto blinked first and looked at Sasuke. But Sasuke was looking at the new guy. Who was looking back.
The new guy assessed Sasuke and Naruto before making his way over to them. "Do you mind? Staring is impolite." His voice was velvety and deep.
Naruto to mumble an apology but Sasuke cut him off. "What's your name?"
"Gaara, and your's?" So the sexy man has a name equally hot and mysterious.
"Sasuke Uchiha. We will not apologize for staring when you yourself was too." Sasuke sounded annoyed and peeved.
"Ah yes, but I believe it was your friend that was staring first." Gaara's lip twitched into a smirk.
"Ah yes, and for you to know he was staring; you would have had to be as well. We are done here." Sasuke frowned and tugged on Naruto's elbow. "Pleasure to meet you." That part sounded bit out.
"You as well, Uchiha." Gaara began walking away, ignoring Naruto. That irked Naruto into ripping his elbow from Sasuke and interrupting Gai's instructions.
"Hey Gaara! What about me? Don't you want to know my name as well?!" Naruto hollered at the retreating red head.
"No, you don't interest me. Only the Uchiha," and with that Gaara faded into the crowd of students leaving behind a pissed off Naruto and slightly interested Sasuke.
{::}
Naruto had been in a bad mood all day. He knew what he saw. How could he forget? He woke up every day looking into those eyes. That belonged to himself. He grew accustomed to them until Iruka adopted him.
They had some kind of bond forming, Naruto knew it. he fumed all lunch as he heard his voice mingle with Sasuke's. Naruto knew that Sasuke was getting fed up with the guy, but was just being courteous to the newbie. That only pissed Naruto off. He ended up ranting about it to Iruka during lunch.
{::}
During Naruto's free period after lunch, he decided to try again with Gaara. Naruto was ecstatic to know that Gaara too had a free period after lunch. Naruto followed the oblivious red head to the library and then broke off in a different direction. he didn't want to come off as a stalker on the first day. He just wanted to know the guy.
Gaara walked to the nonfiction section of the library, while Naruto went straight for fiction. Naruto peeped around the bookshelf and searched for red hair. Found him.
Naruto grabbed a random book, and made his way to Gaara. Pretending to read a book about mystical tailed demons, he "accidentally" bumped in Gaara.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry. You alright?" Naruto faked his surprise, but was happy to know it sounded real. Shit, it actually hurt. He has a hard head.
Gaara dropped his book when the blonde bumped into him. Naruto bent down and picked up Gaara's book, handing it back to him. "I'm okay, thank you." Gaara sounded bored.
"Oh, hey! You're the new kid, Gaara, right? We met earlier today, remember?"
"No," came the simple answer.
"It was gym, where he saw Sasuke and me together," Naruto blushed at the thought of them being together together.
"Nope, I remember the Uchiha, but not you. Unless, you're saying that you were that loud mouth blonde." Gaara sent him a cold look, but Naruto knew he was just afraid of being close to someone and was pushing everyone away.
Naruto softly smiled. He knew he's loud and dense sometimes, and he didn't mind being called that.
With the same soft smile, "You know Gaara? I see the pain in your eyes. They were in mine once as well. If you ever need a friend, just listen for the loud mouth blonde, and you will find me. Unless it's Ino." Naruto chuckled and looked up at Gaara.
Naruto looked up and saw wide, disbelieving eyes. Naruto felt his heart clench. No one should be this lonely. He felt tears swell in his eyes as he thought about the suffering they both went through.
Naruto rubbed the offending tears away, and spoke again. "I know you don't believe me, but ask anyone. I was there too, and I understand you. I wouldn't cry for just anybody."
"Why would you do that?" Gaara's voice was soft and timid.
"Why would I do what?" Naruto blinked.
"Why would you cry for me? You don't know me. I was so mean to you, but you cried for me, and still smile at me." Gaara's voice went back to its mean and cold tone.
"I just can't help thinking that I would have wanted someone to be my friend and be there when I needed to cry. So it would be wrong of me if I ignored someone who needs a friend. A true friend, and I will be that friend, believe it."
With that, Naruto waved and left Gaara to think over what he said. Naruto was at the end of the aisle when a voice stopped him.
"Hey, you never told me your name. Have can we be friends if I don't even know your name?" Gaara called from his place and Naruto was graced with a small smile painted on Gaara's face.
"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto rounded the corner and replaced the book back to its original place before leaving the library.
{::}
Naruto found himself in a gloomy mood in his last period. Today Iruka was actually giving a lesson in class, and threatened Naruto with ramen if he fell asleep in class. Every now and then he would doze off, only to have Kiba wake him up with a painful snap of a rubber band. Or Hinata, who sat behind him, would shake him slightly.
Naruto, was not having a good day. Tapping his pencil impatiently, Iruka glared at him.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" Iruka asked. The class turned and looked at him.
Pouting, "Nothing mom, please continue this boring lesson. At least I'm not asleep." Naruto looked at Iruka. "And I want ramen tonight."
Iruka frowned and then smiled. "Sure Naruto, but call me mom one more time, and you won't ever be able to speak again." Iruka kept his smile on, and Naruto gulped. He nodded quickly and Iruka clapped.
"Great!" Iruka went back to his lesson, and Naruto started dozing off again.
Every now and then, you could hear a giggle, and then a cough. Naruto ignored it. Then it grew louder and happened more often.
"Oh my gosh, can you please stop laughing?" Naruto called out to whoever was laughing.
Iruka snapped at Naruto. "Naruto! Don't interrupt my lesson! Now, whom ever is laughing, can you please pay attention? This is important."
The giggling stopped, but only for a few minutes. Naruto bite down on his jaw.
"Hinata! I'm surprised. Hand your phone over. And please tell me what's more important then this huge project." Iruka walked to her desk and Hinata calmly placed her phone in Iruka's hand.
"Well, though I agree that this is important. I think a fox that lives in your apartment is more important." Hinata giggled. Naruto gagged and jumped out of his seat.
"Hinata! Why would you say that?" Naruto panicked. He didn't know how Iruka was going to react. Slowly, and gulping, Naruto looked at Iruka, who was looking at Hinata's phone.
"Naruto? What is Hinata talking about?" Iruka's voice was soft, as was his face as he examined the picture. It was the one of Naruto snuggling the hurt fox in his arms.
"We found him in the woods yesterday. Naruto and I heard whimpering so we went to check it out. I was scared but Naruto was brave and looked into the bush where the fox was in. After rustling around a bit, Naruto took his hoodie off and picked up a fox. A baby fox. Naruto saved a baby fox from a hunter's trap. He raced back to school and took care of it. If it wasn't for Naruto, this baby fox would be dead. He was going to tell you today. So don't be mad. I mean look at the picture." Hinata explained.
She grabbed her phone and tapped a few buttons. Soon the whole class had access to the picture. And the room was filled with aw's. Naruto blushed.
"Though what you did was good Naruto, you are still in trouble, and you know we can't keep it." Iruka said. Naruto frowned.
"Yes, I understand."
"Naru-" Iruka started.
"I understand," And with that Naruto left the class. Not going far, he slid down the wall and sat on the floor.
I guess this adds to Naruto's bad day. The hallway was empty and quiet. Or was until a door opened and footsteps headed towards Naruto. He brought his knees up, rested his head on them and wrapped his arms around his legs.
The person sat next to him and put an arm around him. "I'll talk to Kakashi about it, okay?" Iruka's voice echoed in the hallway. Naruto nodded and Iruka left.
Minutes later another pair of footsteps was heard. The person sat down next to Naruto and punched him in the arm, hard. Naruto knew who it was instantly. Why? Because he recognized the person's punches.
"You damn bastard, leave me alone." Naruto punched Sasuke back equally hard. Naruto looked up at him and saw a rare smile.
"There we go. You sulking isn't a good look on you. I missed the fire in your eyes." Sasuke rubbed his shoulder, and both men settled down.
"I think that was really great of you to rescue the kit by the way." Sasuke said after a while of sitting in silence.
Naruto yawned and leaned into Sasuke's shoulder. Said person tensed at the touch and then heard Naruto's steady breathing, and relaxed. The fox probably kept him up all night.
Sasuke smiled again and wrapped an arm around Naruto. He pulled Naruto into his lap and leaned against the locker. Seventh period still had 20 minutes before the bell rang. And if anyone dare tell them to move, Sasuke has his famous Uchiha glare up his sleeve.
Thankfully, no one showed up till the bell rang. Sasuke himself was falling asleep. Naruto was talking in his sleep and he swore he heard his name but didn't say anything. Shaking Naruto, Naruto yawned and blinked slowly.
Naruto jumped when he saw the position he was in. He was sitting in Sasuke's lap, his knees resting on Sasuke's thigh, and his head was tucked under Sasuke's chin.
Blushing, Naruto untangled himself and stood up, and helped Sasuke up. "Um, thanks I guess." Naruto didn't know what to say, so a thank you was best.
Sasuke smirked and began walking back to Iruka's class. "Just remember you owe me now." And Sasuke disappeared into the class. Naruto mirrored Sasuke's smirk and followed after him.
The class was empty besides a pacing Iruka and a packing Sasuke. Sasuke said his goodbyes and gave Naruto a playful punch before leaving the class.
"Teme," Naruto called out.
"Bye dobe." Sasuke waved without looking back. Naruto lost him in the crowd.
Naruto smiled and turned back to Iruka. Iruka saw Naruto and quickly embraced him in a tight loving hug. "Don't scare me like that. I thought the both of you just left like that. I thought it was because of me. Hinata explained that it was a prank Kiba made her do. That's when Sasuke left to get you to come back, but ended up not. I was worried."
Naruto wrapped his arms around Iruka and smiled. "Alright Mom, I'm here now. Damn Kiba, I swear, I'm going to pour mouthwash down his throat to get rid of that dog breath." Naruto snickered and Iruka swatted his head.
"Language. Let's go, ramen is on me." Iruka pulled out of the hug and grabbed his class keys. Naruto grabbed his bag and followed Iruka out of the class and to his car.
"Ramen, ramen, ramen, ramen, ramen." Naruto repeated the whole ride.
Kakashi was home when Iruka and Naruto walked through the door. The sleeping kit, Kurama, was curled in his lap. Iruka had texted him, telling him that he knew about the kit and what Naruto did. They came to a decision, one Kakashi was very happy about.
Naruto's face lit up when he saw the kit. "Kurama!" The kit woke and sniffed. Kurama bounced off Kakashi's lap and landed awkwardly, due to his injured leg. Kurama tried walking to Naruto, but his limp was still too heavy so the kit fell.
"Aw, baby, don't walk, I will come to you." Naruto cooed as he walked to the kit and picked him up. Kurama licked his scars and head butted Naruto's jaw. Naruto laughed and scratched him behind the ears.
Kurama's tail swayed happily and his ears perked forward when Iruka began petting him too. Kurama was enjoying the attention and spent all day demanding attention from Kakashi.
Naruto walked to the kitchen to find something to feed him. Setting the kit on the counter, Naruto opened the fridge. Searching till he found some chicken, he pulled it out and set it next to the kit, then went and grabbed a cutting board and knife.
Setting the already cooked chicken breast on the cutting board, Naruto cut it into small pieces and slide the board to Kurama, who smashed his nose into the chicken. After sniffing the food, he opened his small jaws and munched hungrily on the chicken.
Naruto looked over to see Iruka and Kakashi kiss before Iruka sat down next to him. They were whispering about something and Naruto would occasionally pull out a 'fox' and 'vet'. But Naruto didn't pay attention when he felt Kurama bite his hand.
"Ow! Kurama, that hurt!" Naruto pouted and sucked on his hand. Kurama's ear drooped and wrapped his tail around his paws. Naruto squirmed at his huge blue eyes and picked the kit up. "Baby, I didn't mean to yell. Bite me all you want, I still love you." Naruto snuggled the animal against his chest. Kurama bite his shoulder and Naruto held in a yell.
"Iruka, we have to let him keep Kurama. I mean, look at him. They are good for each other. Naruto learns responsibility and has a friend away from school. And I went back to the woods, the kit's mother was killed in a trap a few feet from the one Naruto saw. Kurama is motherless and can't survive by himself." Kakashi whispered to his boyfriend.
Iruka sighed and leaned into Kakashi before settling in his lap. "I know, and I have an idea." Kakashi undid Iruka's hair tie and ran a hand through the knots.
"And this plan is?" Kakashi asked. He listened to Iruka share his idea and beamed. It was marvelous.
"Great plan, now how should I reward you?" Kakashi purred in Iruka's ear and tugged gently on Iruka's hair.
Iruka blushed and lightly grinded against Kakashi's growing erection.
"Suggestion noted, and granted." Kakashi growled.
