A Voice in My Head

By I.K.A. Valian

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Damn it!

A Few Suggestions

Naruto stood in the middle of a field. He was continually punching and kicking in no real pattern. Just when his movements slowed down by half and it looked like he was going to stop from exhaustion, Naruto grimaced. He growled. He snarled. And then his kicking and punching picked up again to just a little faster than before with just a little more force.

To the young pale-eyed girl watching Naruto training in the park, it was like watching someone throw more tinder onto a roaring fire. She could only stand there, hidden behind a tree, and feel the ache deep in her chest as she wished with all her might that she could be that strong, even if she never thought it could happen.

Naruto and her were alike, in that they both wanted to be acknowledged, to be seen for who they really were. But that just wasn't how the world worked. Her father and the rest of her family would always look down on her and eventually she would be put into the Branch House of the Hyuuga Clan. Naruto, on the other hand… Naruto she believed in. She saw him for who he was and she knew that he had the courage and the strength to make people believe in him.

They had different destinies and no matter how much she wished it wasn't so, that was how it was. That was how the world worked. It was like her cousin said all the time, it was fate.

Fate was why she screamed, punched, and fainted when an orange wearing blond dropped from the tree right next to her.

Naruto rubbed his eye, which he was sure was swelling shut and just plain hurt otherwise, as he tried to move his quiet, and a little weird, classmate into a more comfortable sitting position against the tree she was standing next to. He hadn't meant to startle her, so he wasn't really surprised she had punched him. Ninja had to be ready to do crazy awesome things like that to people who tried to get the jump on them.

But then Hinata fainted. He was completely confused because any ninja who fainted like that would probably be captured or killed by the bad guys. Not cool at all.

"I don't get it," Naruto said. "She punched me and then she fainted. What did I do? Are you sure she fainted? I still think she might be sick or something and we should take her to the hospital."

"Naruto, I'm positive she fainted. Give her a few minutes and she'll wake up."

Naruto sighed and rubbed his eye again. It was definitely swelling. It wasn't swollen shut, but it felt like his eyes was going to pop out of his head or just explode.

"Wow… who knew Hinata could hit like that," Naruto said. "I never really saw her hit anyone in class. But she's always been kind of weird and never really fights back very much."

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

"Huh? What book?"

"Sorry, no book. It's a saying that means you shouldn't assume what you see on the outside is true about something on the inside. For a book, if the cover is ugly, that doesn't necessarily mean that the story inside is bad."

"Oh, I get it," Naruto said. He scratched his head in thought. "So, wait. Maybe I don't. Does that mean that if there's a book that has this awesome cover that totally cool and makes me want to read it, it could have a really horrible story inside it that involves people throwing good ramen into the trash?"

"Pretty much. Same thing applies to people. And especially ninja. Ninja are supposed to masters of deception, after all. Now, you and your classmates are still young so I doubt anyone has mastered it in your age group, but the older ninjas rarely show their true selves. Even still, young ninja in training also have secrets and hidden desires that even they may not be aware of."

"Uh…" Naruto pulled his finger out of his nose and rubbed it clean on his jacket. "You done?"

"Haha, yeah. Just don't be surprised when people can do things you didn't think they could."

"Got it," Naruto said with a fist pump. "I'll never let anyone get the drop on me again. If they do, I'll just train hard enough so that they can't."

"For now, that's good enough. I'll have more to add to that, if we continue the mentorship in three and a half months."

"There's more?" Naruto groaned. "Why can't all this stuff be easy? You know, like punch and kick and stuff. That's easy. All this thinking and stuff makes my head hurt. And it makes me hungry too!"

"Becoming a strong ninja isn't easy, Naruto. If you really can't deal with this, then you should quit right now."

"Hah! No way am I quitting!" Naruto crossed his arms and nodded, mostly to himself. "I don't care what you throw at me, I'll take it and throw it back at you ten times over!"

"Then you should stop complaining about your head and empty stomach. Complaining is just as bad and as useless as sitting there and crying about it."

"Grr… I'm not a crybaby!"

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Oh hey, Hinata! Are you okay? You fainted and I… What's wrong Hinata?! You went all red in the… Hinata? Hinata!"

"Take it easy, she just fainted again."

"Are you sure there isn't something wrong with her?" Naruto asked. "This can't be normal."

"Perhaps she needs some food."

"Hmm… yeah! I passed out when I didn't eat enough before too!" Naruto quickly manhandled Hinata until she was riding on his back. Then he took off into town, toward the only food stall he knew that had the best food ever. Ichiraku.

When she woke up for the second time, it was a gradual awakening. The first thing she became aware of was the smell of soup. It wasn't a bad smell at all, far from it. In fact, she instantly recognized it as the smell of ramen. Specifically, Ichiraku ramen. She'd memorized the smell long ago while stalking…. err, shadowing- no, following- no, not that either… watching, yes, watching Naruto.

The first time she woke up, the sight of Naruto with a puffy right eye proved that her memories of punching him in the face were not, in any way, a nightmare. When he started talking, she had felt the temperature quickly rising around her. That he actually cared about if she was okay or not, pushed her over the edge and the darkness swallowed her again.

Now, contrary to what many thought of her, even her own father, Hyuuga Hinata was not stupid. Weak willed, overly cautious, and a bit too gentle for ninja work, perhaps, but stupid in no way, shape, or form. That she woke up smelling Ichiraku ramen with her face gently resting upon something soft, but hard like a cloth covered counter top, and that she could easily hear Naruto rambling on about his training efforts in the park after class, it wasn't hard for her to piece together what had happened.

"Naruto-kun carried me to Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto-kun had to carry me. Naruto-kun held me. Naruto-kun didn't leave me behind in the park. Naruto-kun held me. Naruto-kun saw me pass out two times in a row..."

That last thought stopped Hinata's train of thinking. A wave of embarrassment washed through her and it was all she could do to stop from fainting again. The embarrassment was quickly replaced by a deep seated feeling of self loathing.

"Naruto-kun probably thinks the worst of me now."

It was with this thought that she opened her eyes and sat up. What she saw was not what she was expecting. Naruto had, she counted, his seventh bowl in front of his face as he drank the remnants of the soup. The cook and his daughter, Teuchi and Ayame respectively, noted her awakening and smiled at her.

"Ah, Hyuuga-sama," Ayama said. Hinata had memorized her and her father's names from all of her time watching the blond. Watching was a safe word, wasn't it? "I see you have finally awoken. When Naruto carried you in here, I thought for a moment that you'd been hurt. Thank goodness it was just a fainting spell."

As soon as Ayame finished speaking, a bowl was unceremoniously placed on the counter in front of Hinata by Teuchi. It was still warm, but it didn't feel scalding hot. Just right.

"This is on the house," Teuchi said. "You must be starving after such a long day of learning."

All of this took place within the fifty seconds it took for Naruto to finish downing the ramen broth. He let out a satisfied sigh as he lowered the bowl and placed it on the pile next to him. He grinned and was about to belch, it was clear, but something stopped him and he swallowed, hard. It looked painful.

"That hit the spot, Old Man," Naruto said with some effort after the laboriously aborted burp. "Thanks! Your ramen is the best ever!"

"Hahaha, I'm so glad you like it, Naruto," Teuchi said. "It's because you love ramen so much that you are my favorite and best customer!"

"Well of course!" Naruto stood and threw his fist high into the air. "Nothing is as awesome as ramen! And Ichiraku ramen is the best ramen there is!"

"Naruto," Ayame said, her voice annoyed. She had a soup ladle and was polishing it, almost menacingly, with a cloth. "Have some manners. Stop ignoring your friend."

Naruto paled a little and then was bowing to Hinata. "Sorry Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to ignore you."

"N-Naruto-kun…" she stuttered. "I-It's alright."

Naruto quickly took his seat again and grinned his megawatt beaming grin at her. The warmth that filled her at that moment drove away the fear of Naruto's bad opinion in an instant. He truly was incredibly strong and it only hurt more knowing she would never be so. Yet, at the same time, being this close to him, knowing how hard he worked and how much they both understood what it was like to want recognition, she didn't feel jealous at all. She didn't even feel intimidated or scared.

She just felt, dare she think it, happy? No. Content. Not happy. She wasn't sure what happiness was and had no way of finding out. No, she was content to be near to someone so full of light like Naruto was.

"Ne, Hinata-chan," Naruto said. "You gonna eat that?"

Hinata blinked twice and then remembered the bowl of slightly cooled ramen in front of her. She was about to shove it over to Naruto, knowing he'd really appreciate it, and perhaps her a little more. But before she could, her stomach rumbled and growled like a beast ready to devour its meal.

She could practically feel her face light up as she blushed. Naruto's grin, if possible, got bigger. "Never mind," he said. "I think you should keep it. I already ate my fill anyway. I just didn't want to see good ramen go to waste. But if you're that hungry, then I don't have to worry about it."

She tried to nod, but it came out more as a jerk of her head. Her embarrassment seemed to be getting in the way of her movements. Slowly, like she was under some kind of paralysis jutsu or poison, she picked up a pair of chopsticks and dug into the meal.

After the first bite, the wooden movements were pushed to the side as hunger took control from embarrassment. The flavor of the soup made her tongue tingle without scorching her taste buds. It was like she was experiencing a dance of flavors on her tongue. It was over far too soon as she ran out of soup and blinked when she realized that she was holding the large bowl up in front of her just like Naruto had moments before.

Embarrassment punched hunger in the face and took back control. Hunger was full of some of the most divine tasting stuff it had ever experienced and took the blow so it could roll over and fall asleep in a happy food coma. Hinata's face heated up again, but her stomach felt good and full. It was a good feeling.

"Wow, Hinata," Naruto said. "I didn't know you liked ramen so much! We should come here more often."

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Uh.. I mean…" Naruto scratched his head and laughed weakly. A quick glance at Ayame, who was handling that ladle like a kenjutsu master would a sword, caused Naruto to shiver. "I mean, that is if you want to come here to eat with me."

"Yes!" The words were out before she could realize what she'd said. It was an offer she'd never refuse, simply because it meant she'd get to spend more time in the awesome company of the one who was known as Uzumaki Naruto. The ramen was also fantastic, but paled in comparison. What was there to compare, anyway?

Naruto grinned his happy grin. She smiled a little back, herself, though it was small. Maybe this was happiness?

"Hinata-sama!"

Hinata jerked when she heard her name barked out like that. Just like that, whatever warmth she was feeling vanished and was replaced by cold, creeping dread. She felt herself stiffen involuntarily as she turned around to look at her cousin. The young man was glaring at her and she knew why, even if she couldn't exactly remember everything from back then clearly. He blamed her for his father's death and, really, he was right. If she'd been stronger, like a proper clan heiress, maybe she could have defended herself.

Maybe, but now it was too late. His father, her uncle, was dead. And it was her fault.

"Neji," she said, acknowledging him.

"Come, it is time to return to the compound," Neji said. His own pale eyes held nothing but anger and hatred for whatever he looked at. That he glanced dismissively at everything around her, including Naruto made her blood boil like nothing else. But what could she do, she wasn't strong and he was. Without a word, Neji turned and started walking.

She stood from her seat and made a short bow to Naruto. "T-Thank you for w-watching out f-for me, N-Naruto-kun."

Before he could reply, she turned and ran off to follow her cousin.

Naruto was quiet when he arrived at his apartment. As he slumped into bed, his night cap snugly fit onto his wild blond locks, he groaned. He just couldn't the look out of his head. The look that the other Hyuuga had given to Hinata. She'd called him Neji and it seemed like she knew him, but it was clear to Naruto that she didn't like him very much. And the way he bossed her around was just rude and it made him angry.

But the thing that stood out about Neji was the look in his eyes. The look that everyone but a very few people in the village looked at him with. That cold and ugly hatred that would freeze him to the bone if he let it. His smile was as much as a defense against the cold as it was to make sure the people giving him that look didn't know how much pain he was in. He liked to think it was his way of following shinobi rule twenty-five, never show emotions. Sure, he was smiling, but it wasn't what he was really feeling.

"Heh," Naruto chuckled with a grin, "I guess I'm like a book with a weird cover too."

The reason Neji's cold gaze was bothering him so much was because, like Sasuke, Neji wasn't directing it at him. No, Naruto seemed to be more of an annoyance, like a bug or something. Rather, the look of cold hatred was focused on Hinata. Hinata!

"Why would anyone use that look on Hinata?" Naruto mused aloud. He was still wide awake, despite the late hour. His mind simply refused to stop playing the short encounter with Hyuuga Neji. "She's got to be one of the nicest people ever! Yeah, she's a little weird, but so what? It's not like she pranks anyone or… is mean… or anything stupid like I do! She's smart too, not like me. So why was he looking at her like that?"

"They're both Hyuuga, so maybe it's some family fight or something?"

"That's not how anyone should ever look at family," Naruto said firmly. "That's how people look at me and if I had a family, I'd never look at them with those eyes. Just thinking about it pisses me off!"

"I know you won't like this idea, but after the past two weeks, I don't believe you are advancing as fast as you are capable of."

"Huh?" Naruto frowned and sat up a little. "What do you mean? What more could I do? I'm training like crazy! Heck, I'm way stronger now that I was a week ago!"

"That's true. I'm not saying it's not working, just that it's not working fast enough."

"Why? Why do I have to get stronger faster?"

"Sorry, rule two. I can't tell you."

"Grrr, why not?! You and your stupid rules! If you just-"

"Are you complaining like a crybaby again?"

"I'm not a crybaby!"

"Complaining about something that isn't going to change, won't change it."

"I know that, but so what!"

"I thought you swore to never cry again. I guess if you don't get your way, now you complain instead of crying."

"Damn it! Shut up!"

"Look, Naruto, I don't really care if you complain or cry or whatever. I'm simply stating an observation that you are not becoming stronger fast enough."

"And what do you suggest I do about that, oh wise and powerful Jerk?"

"Get more help, of course."

"What? From who?! None of the teachers at the academy have time to help me, even Iruka. He's always got papers to grade and stuff and the other teachers just glare at me. The only other person who could help me is the Hokage, and he's busy all day."

"I suggest looking to your classmates for help."

"Uh… what?"

"Try asking one of your classmates to help you train. My recommendation is Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Sakura, because she is the smartest in the class and a master of theoretical knowledge. Hinata, because as you saw yesterday, she can totally kick ass. And Shino, because he's never been mean to you and seems relatively smart and capable from what memories of him that you have."

"I agree with choosing Sakura, cause she really is smart and stuff. And I guess Hinata isn't just weird, cause she did punch pretty hard when I snuck up on her. But why Shino? He's got bugs and, well… I dunno, do you really think he can help?"

"Yes."

"Eh… fine…" Naruto opened his mouth, yawning loudly. He leaned back into his pillow as fatigue finally caught up with him. "I'll just do that… in the morning… G'night…"

A/N: So as you can see, in this story, Naruto is getting help but also figuring stuff out for himself. Also, as far as pairing go in this story, there are none. There are for sure to be crushes and stuff for the kids, but as far as parings go, the only ones are the ones that the adults have, such as Kushina/Minato or Asuma/Kurenai (dating). Granted, one of those pairs are dead, but I think you lot get the point.

Now, as illustrated here, Naruto is still a kid and dealing with him is like dealing with a kid who's always going to be impatient and not as knowledgeable as an adult would be. The same goes for the other kids. Even the so called "prodigies" are going to act like kids when they're kids.

Anywho, review!

~I.K.A. Valian