Title: What could've been

Author: Kurotsuki-Tenchi

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: NaruXHina,

Genre: Action, Romance and a little bit of comedy.

Rated: M for Language, violence, and sexual content.

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters and stuff belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and therefore can only make make believe stories about them and dream about them being real. Sigh.

Authors Note: This chapter really isn't significant but I had to add it in for certain parts of my story in the future. Anyway I'm surprised I made it this far, I want to personally thank all my reviewers for their words. I will try my hardest to continue to put more chapters out. But as the story goes on the chapters will probably be further apart so don't be surprised.

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Chapter 5

The first thing Naruto did when he was woken up by a blaring alarm the next day was groan and roll over. He opened his eyes slightly, glaring miserably at his alarm clock which happily stated it was 7:00 am. He manage to move his arm enough to slam the snooze button, before redrawing it into his cocoon of warmth. He groaned again and rolled back over, burying himself in covers once again.

After yesterdays test and training session Naruto found himself somewhat drained and tired. He was so glad that he didn't have training today, the only thing that Kurenai said was for them to go shopping...

Suddenly it hit him and he jumped out of bed, practically dragging off his night cloths in mid air. That was why his alarm clock was set, he had to meet Hinata and Shino in half an hour!

As Naruto rushed to get ready, he managed to trip before falling over his bed, knocking his head against the window sill and giving himself a large knot on the side of his head. As he held his head he manage to stumble back to his feet and proceed to dress, still slightly dizzy.

Finally after being fully dressed, his frog purse in safely in his pocket he rushed out the door as fast as he could. He was running full out for the meeting spot, he really didn't want to be late. He finally had friends now and he really didn't want to lose them for being late and making them wait.

As he arrived at their meeting spot in front of Ichiraku, he discovered that only Hinata was there. She was standing facing away from him, leaning slightly against the wall. He ran over and yelled out an abrupt 'Hi!' which considering that Hinata was not expecting said greeting, ended up squawking and jumping at least a foot in the air.

"N-naruto-kun?!" Hinata stuttered out, breathless from the sudden scare. Naruto felt ashamed at the look on her face, it looked as though she just saw a ghost.

"S-sorry!" Naruto apologized, he really didn't mean to startle her. Hinata looked startled at his apology, people usually didn't apologize to her.

"N-no, I-it's o-ok!" Hinata said, stutter back in full force. "Y-you just s-startled m-me!" A blush working its way up her cheeks.

"But if I didn't yell you wouldn't have been scared," Naruto insisted, bent on accepting the blame that he felt was his. Evidently though before he could respond she noticed the knot forming on his the side of his forehead.

"N-naruto-kun, is y-your head okay?" He froze at her question, not many people showed him concern and the fact that she was only made her that much more of a friend.

"Y-yeah," He stuttered out, suddenly self conscious. "I-I kinda tripped this morning. no big deal." But Hinata continued to look at him with concern shining in her lavender eyes. Under her gaze he felt his face start to flush, he'd never had anyone pay that much attention to him before.

"A-are you s-sure?" Hinata asked again, Naruto was acting funny and that worried her. She was afraid that maybe he hit his head a little too hard.

As Naruto fought to come up with a response he failed to notice that one of their team members were still not there, so when he did appear it put an end to their current predicament.

"Hey," Shino's sudden voice startled both of them first causing them to yelp, then jump, then turn around with a look of horror, both of their faces flushed. Shino had to hold back a chuckle, it was just too much to see them both looking as though they had the daylights scared out of them.

"Shino!" Naruto burst out, "You scared the bejesus out of me!" Shino didn't look guilty in the least, if anything he could tell Shino was silently laughing at them.

"Are we going to shop or are we just going to stand here all day?" Shino said before Naruto could start yelling again, he really didn't want to get into a full blown fight.

Hinata mumbled something with a flush painting her cheeks but neither of her teammates could hear it. Naruto leaned closer which only caused Hinata's flush to deepen.

"What did you say Hinata? I didn't hear you." Naruto watched as his female teammates face darken more and more still confused on why that happened to her.

"I-I said I-I know of a s-store to buy y-you a new o-outfit." Hinata stuttered out weakly, Naruto was way to close for her comfort.

"Okay, but can I ask a favor? There's another store I need to stop at first, it shouldn't take long. " Both Shino and Hinata nodded so they took off walking down the street as Naruto talked animatedly to them.

As they made it down the road, Naruto could tell that today was going to be a bad day. Half the stores in the town won't even let him in through the door, and he didn't want to explain to his new friends why that is. Unfortunately it was inevitable so he wanted to prolong the conversation as long as possible.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o

"Ah Naruto!" A elderly lady exclaimed as she watched him walk into her shop. "My is it good to see you again!" She briskly walked over to him and he enveloped her in a hug.

"Hey Gram gram," Naruto said resting his head on her white head. "How are you doing today?" Shino and Hinata watched the scene in front of them with shock.

"Good, Good. What I want to know is why in the world don't you visit more?" She pulled away and looked behind him to see the two notably shocked kids. "And who are they? Friends?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Gram gram, I'd like you to meet my teammates Hinata and Shino." Hinata bowed her head in greeting and Shino nodded. "Hinata, Shino, I'd like you to meet Harriet Jones."

"Yeah, yeah, but you could just call me Gram gram, everyone else does." Gram gram then whirled around to Naruto, she was one spry old lady. "And you didn't answer my first question."

"You know that you lose customers every time I come here, you can't afford to lose that many customers." Gram gram whacked him on the head lightly with the hand towel she was carrying around. Hinata and Shino watched in shocked curiosity.

"You know I don't care about that!" She scolded half-heartedly.

"Yes but you don't have a lot of customers anyway and I don't want to run them all off, you guys need the money." He moved a little as she moved to wack him with the cloth again.

"You stubborn boy," She sighed giving up, when Naruto got an idea in his head it was nigh impossible to make him change his views.

"Hey is pops around? I want to see how he's doing." Gram gram nodded and Naruto grinned, "Would you mind getting him for me, I want to see him before I leave."

"I'll be right back, I also have a surprise for you and yes you will accept it." She said before Naruto had a chance to object.

As she went into the back Naruto grinned sheepishly, he turned to Hinata and Shino who were looking at him with an undistinguishable look.

"What?" Naruto asked, obviously confused. "They accepted me when I was younger, they also gave me cloths and food." He smiled somewhat, "They are as close to me as real grandparents, and I'm glad they accepted me."

"Naruto!" A sudden loud call interrupted them before Shino or Hinata could reply. He turned to see an tall elderly man walk over to him.

"Pops!" Naruto exclaimed as he hugged him too. He pulled away to look at the man.

"I heard you got some new friends, and this must be them." He said looking at Hinata and Shino, a smile plastered on his face.

"My name is Shino Aburame and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Shino replied bowing his head slightly, Pops just chuckled.

"And I-I am Hinata Hyuga," Hinata manage to stuttered out weakly, trying not to push her fingers together like she usually did.

"Ahh, a Hyuga hey? You don't seem to act like the rest your relatives, for which I am glad." She blushed and Naruto looked at her in curiosity, but didn't comment.

Pops looked at Naruto again to notice that he had a leaf headband on. "So your finally a ninja now?"

"Yeah, I just passed the other day! Hinata and Shino are actually my teammates too!" He said proudly, adjusting the headband Iruka gave him.

"About time! They finally seen that you have potential, I have to say it took them long enough." Pops said, as proud as seeing his own son succeed in his dreams.

"Really, considering that your able to hide from chunin after you pull one of your pranks you'd think that they would see how good you could be." Gram gram said, proud and yet sad at Naruto's accomplishment.

"You saw that?" Naruto asked a little sheepishly. His teammates looked at him in curiosity, but he avoided looking at them.

"Of course, the entire town had to have." Gram gram replied, "And when you ran away from those chunin, I watched you hide and they ran right past you." Evidently she had found it to be funny. "Funniest thing I've seen since that time Pops got stuck in a trash bin."

"And as I recall it was Naruto's fault I ended up in that dang bin." Pops said, not looking one bit upset. "He always did have a mischievous side."

"I'm sorry, I would love to sit here and talk about all my failings and pranks but we have to go shopping for a new wardrobe today." Naruto spoke up sadly, personally whishing he could stay.

"Oh, so you are finally getting rid of that orange monstrosity?" Pops asked, clearly happy. "I've never seen a ninja as bright as Naruto."

Naruto ignored him as Gram gram approached with a small wooden box. He turned to Hinata and Shino. "Can you guys please step out for a bit, I have something private to discuss with Gram gram and Pops."

"O-okay," Hinata stuttered as she and Shino stood outside the front door. They were both curious but respectful enough to know when to stay out of it.

Naruto turned to Gram gram with the most serious look she'd ever seen on his face, it was the look of an adult. "I found out about 'him' the other day."

"You mean Kyubi, don't you?" Pops said after a time, it wasn't that difficult to figure out who 'him' was. Both Pops and Gram gram dreaded this day, knew what it would do to the boy.

"Yes," Naruto looked sad. "Why didn't you guys tell me?" His voice cracked a little at the end, sadness as well as a little betrayal leaked through.

"We didn't want you to think of yourself as a monster," Gram gram went over and laid her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You are the nicest young man I have ever met and didn't want you to lose that."

"That and the third forbid us from telling you," Pops said standing on his other side. "But I will tell you this, even if you do contain the Kyubi I still think of you as a grandson."

"Oh Naruto," Gram gram sighed as she held up the small wooden box. It was small and had carvings all over, the pictures depicted of castles and warriors. "I knew that one day it would come to this, so I saved this for you." She handed him the wooden box.

He opened it to revealed a necklace with a small blue round charm on it, the charm itself had the kanji meaning 'protected' inscribed on it. "My son was a ninja and had the ability to craft charms that can do specific things." She sighed sadly as she thought of her lost son. "This charm will protect you, keep it with you always."

Naruto nodded before slipping it over his head, "Thank you Gram gram," He said, giving her a hug. "I'll try my hardest to not get hurt."

"I guess thats all I can really ask for." She said hugging him back. As he gave his farewells he headed out to meet his teammates, the day weighing more heavily on his shoulders than before.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o

Hinata noticed something was up with Naruto as soon as he left the store. Call it female intuition or whatever, Hinata could tell that something was bothering her blond haired teammate.

As they made their way toward the clothing shop, Hinata noticed Naruto fingering a small blue necklace nervously. As he continued to she could tell Naruto was in deep thought, he hadn't said a word to them and continued to stare forward absently.

As they arrived at the clothing store Naruto stopped in his tracks, staring at the store is shock. Hinata and Shino stopped to look back at him.

"I'm sorry guys but I'm not allowed in that store," Naruto said it with such panic that both Hinata and Shino automatically thought the same thing.

Hinata looked at Shino out of the corner of her eye and he nodded back sutley. Naruto who was too preoccupied looking at the store missed the transaction.

"Come on Naruto," Shino said, grabbing the obviously shocked Naruto. Hinata led the way as Shino dragged a practically fighting Naruto by the collar.

As soon as they entered the shop, a hush descended upon the entire store. Everyone froze in what they were doing to stare at the new comers in shock, no one dared to move an inch. Naruto opted to stare at his shoes, not wanting to look at anybody.

"Get that thing out of my store!" A women came up to them, glaring at Naruto with such venom. Naruto flinched but still refused to raise his eyes.

Hinata who seen this, raised her head and stood up strait, anger coursing through her. "Excuse me Ms?" The owner looked over to the girl for the first time, she froze as she saw the pale eyes. Naruto looked at her in shock, he never heard Hinata where she didn't stutter.

"A-a Hyuga!?" The women was clearly shocked, "W-what can I-I do for you Ms?" She said nervously, not wanting to tick off someone from the Hyuga clan.

"Yes my name is Hinata, Hinata Hyuga," The store owners eyes widened at the name, who didn't know the name of the Hyuga heiress. "I want you to let my friend here passage, all he is doing is shopping for clothing. And if you don't then I'll just have a conversation with my father, and I really don't think your store would survive that."

The women plastered an obvious fake smile on her face, and motioned them inside. "Please come this way, someone will be with you in a minute."

"Thank you," Hinata said, leading Naruto and Shino back through the store. Naruto and Shino had been staring at her in shock, the entire time she didn't stutter even once and she didn't flush at all.

Naruto was surprised the most, he didn't know Hinata had it in her to be intentionally mean. She had stood up for him, her back strait and proud, he'd never seen Hinata do that.

Shino was shocked too, he knew the Hyuga clan was famous, but for Hinata to flaunt it was quite a surprise. As they made it toward the back, Hinata's shoulders seem to slump again and went back to her defensive pose.

"Um excuse me?." Hinata asked a near by employee, he turned to her. "Could you go get Frans for me?" He nodded happily going off to retrieve the man in question.

"Who's Frans?" Naruto asked. Shino looked at him, that was the first time Naruto said anything since they entered the shop.

"H-he works here a-and makes clothing f-for people." Hinata stuttered out, blush back in full force. "H-he also makes clothing f-for ninja," She paused as a tall man walked out of the back. He was extremely thin, and dressed in very fancy clothing. When he spotted her a smile erupted.

"Ah Miss Hinata!" He said, going over to hug her. Naruto who was watching the hole thing felt a flash of something but it was gone so fast that he dismissed it.

"Oh who are your friends?" Naruto's back stiffened as the guy looked at him, expecting the worse. He could tell the man knew who he was but he didn't openly reject him, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is Shino Aburame," She said pointing to said boy. "And h-he is N-naruto Uzamaki," She stuttered out indicating the blond.

Frans was surprised, he was sure that Hinata had grown out of that stuttering problem. But when he caught Hinata staring at Naruto discreetly he smiled a little. "Well it is nice to meet you all, any friends of Hinata's is a friend of mine! Now you came for new outfits did you not?"

"How did you know?" Naruto asked, Shino mentally smacked himself in the forehead.

"I am a tailor, why else would you come see me except to make clothing?" He said it nicely without a hint of annoyance. Naruto blushed in embarrassment, he didn't think of that. "So are you searching for anything specific?"

"We need a new outfit for Naruto here, something that doesn't scream 'come kill me'." Shino said, "And a new outfit for us too."

"I have the perfect material for you!" Frans said, running into the back room. "Be right back!" Items being shifted could be heard and a crash a few seconds later. Suddenly he shouted in triumph, then he walked out of the room completely disheveled. Carrying in his arms some dark orange material.

"This material is made specifically for ninja's." He stopped to catch his breath. "It is created with millions of microscopic mirrors that when injected with chakra can blend into its surroundings. Here give it a try." He said handing Naruto a piece of scrap.

Naruto took it, and injected some chakra into it, what he saw caused him to jump. The cloth which he held near his shirt ended up turning bright orange also. "Cool!"

"Yes, and as soon as I get your sizes I'll get to work on your new uniforms!" He said talking to Shino and Naruto. "I have many different colors but I'm sure you want this one yes?" Naruto nodded with much enthusiasm. "I already have Hinata's measurements from her last visit so we don't have to worry about that."

"How long will it take?" Shino asked them, they still had to go shopping for new weapons after all.

"About 4 hours, they shall be finished by then." He said, already digging for his measurement tape and other things needed.

"That fast?" Naruto asked. "I thought it took longer to make clothing."

"I am the best and fastest tailor in all of Kohona! I even make clothing for the third Hokage himself!" He said, pride shining in his voice. "Now lets get those measurements!" He said walking toward Shino and Naruto with his measurement tape, a sinisterly sweet smile painted his lips.

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Naruto and Shino walked behind Hinata as they quietly headed towards the weapon shop. Naruto made a agreement with himself to never ever have his measurements taken again, that was one of the most awkward moments of his short life.

His face which was still stained red had yet to return to their normal color, and he didn't think they ever would. As they proceeded to through the weapons store doors he was shocked to see who was behind the counter. "Tenten?" The brown eyed girl turned to him. "Why are you working today, I thought you had training on weekdays." Tenten was one of the only people in the village that allowed him into their shop, her foster parents didn't like Naruto but they tolerated him enough to buy weapons.

The girl with brown hair and buns shrugged. "Our Sensei is on an important mission and Neji didn't show up today so we canceled training."

"N-neji's sick," Hinata said from behind Naruto. Tenten smiled as she saw the quiet pale eyed girl, she unlike her cousin was nice and giving.

"So that's why he didn't come to training today." Tenten turned to Hinata. "How are you doing by the way?"

"Good," Hinata managed without stuttering. Tenten might be on Neji's team but she always treated her nicely.

"So what can I do for you today?" Tenten asked as she looked between all three of them. That's when she noticed the headbands. "You guys are ninja's now! That's so cool!"

"Yeah and we need to get some new weapons, Sensei's orders." Naruto told her as they headed toward the back.

"Who'd you get?" Tenten said, following them to the back to help. They were the only customers she had today so she didn't have to worry about neglecting any others.

"Kurenai-sensei," Hinata replied quietly looking over some kunai.

"She's pretty cool, I've seen her every now and then, really nice." Tenten replied. "You guys looking for anything specific?"

"I'm looking for some kunai and shuriken," Naruto replied. "And also some scrolls, I need to write down all the things I learned so I can practice later." He looked to were the shuriken used to be and froze. "What the?"

"We rearranged some things, to your right is the scrolls, and the shuriken are an isle over." Naruto nodded going to go fetch them.

"I came for some wire," Shino said in his usual monotone voice.

"2 isles to you left." Shino nodded and walked off to retrieve them. "What are you looking for Hinata?"

"Some chakra weights," Hinata said. Tenten didn't know if she imagined it or not but it sounded that Hinata's soft voice was softer than usual.

"I'll be right back," Hinata nodded her understanding while picking out a few kunai.

"Hinata I'm back!" Naruto shouted walking up behind her. The sudden shout scared Hinata, causing her to turn and throw the kunai that she was just looking at.

Naruto who wasn't expecting that reaction stood against the shelf, a kunai embedded in the wood to his right. Sweat trickled down his brow, that kunai had barely missed his face.

"O-oh, no!" Hinata said running over to him. "I-I'm s-so s-sorry!" She looked at him with tear filled lavender eyes, she couldn't believe she did that.

Shino and Tenten who heard the commotion came running to see Hinata staring at Naruto with worry, Naruto himself had his back pressed against the shelf with a kunai eye level beside his head.

"Its okay," Naruto manage to say . "I guess this is why I shouldn't startle you anymore." Naruto straitened and pulled the kunai out of the wooden shelf. He handed it back to Hinata, "I'm glad you didn't have one of these this morning or I might've been in trouble."

Hinata blushed as Naruto got closer to her, still apologizing profusely. Naruto tried to tell her that there was no need but Hinata can be stubborn and decided to show it.

Shino just smiled slightly at their argument, Tenten didn't understand the conversation so wisely stayed out.

When they finally calmed down, Tenten rung up their weapons so they could leave. She was surprised to see the once shy Hinata trying to get Naruto to forgive her, usually Hinata would just faint.

She smiled, maybe Naruto's influence on her could be a positive thing. As she watched them walk out, she smiled at their obvious friendships among the group, she was glad that Naruto finally had friends.

After leaving the weapon shop, they all headed back to the clothing store. Naruto had bought a few kunai and shurikan as well as a few scrolls in which he put in his weapons pouch. Hinata too purchased some kunai and a couple of training weights that can be adjusted by injecting it with chakra. Shino just purchased some wire which he quickly hid in his coat also.

As they rentered the shop, Naruto avoided looking at people as they headed to the back. They waited for a bit until Frans came out, a huge grin on his face.

"Ah, you guys are back and just in time!" He exclaimed, his hands held behind his back. "I just got finished with the last one!" He held his hands out and presented Naruto with the dark orange clothing. Naruto grinned when he noticed it looked like his old one, with a few subtle changes of coarse.

The blue parts of his clothing were now black, his collar which was usually white was too black. The pants and shirt were long enough for his arms and legs.

As Naruto rushed to the changing rooms Frans turned to Hinata. "And here is yours," he handed her the outfit. "It has special pouches like your old one to hide weights in." She looked down at it, the jacket that she wore was usually tan this one however was lavender with dark purple rim. Her Capri's were now a dark purple also, other than that it was exactly the same as her old one.

As she too went to the changing rooms Frans turned to Shino. "You are of the Aburame clan are you not?" Shino just nodded at him. Frans smiled again. "Then this will be a treat for you, the clothing is made for your insects to be able to escape your body even though your cloths are in the way, the clothing has small holes that they can easily escape from. It is also made from the same material as Naruto's and Hinata's so it can do the same thing." Shino accepted the clothing which looked exactly like his just a little darker. Shino went into the dressing room as Naruto came out, Naruto himself had a huge grin on his face.

"This is the most comfortable clothing I've ever worn!" He said rubbing his hands on his pants. "Thank you so much Frans!"

"It seems I have another fan, thank you." Naruto who was beaming at him just continued to rub the clothing. "The clothing is also waterproof and heat resistant. It also insulates so you are always warm."

"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. "How much do I owe you?" Naruto asked him after he got over the obsession of rubbing the clothing which was very soft.

"Nothing, its all already paid for." Frans said with a smile. "And before you ask the one who paid for it told me to not tell you who it was."

"But how can I thank them if I don't know who they are?!" Naruto burst out.

"Trust me, they already know you feel gratitude for it." And at the tail of his words Hinata walked out, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"It looks awesome Hinata!" Naruto said giving her 2 thumbs up, she blushed and poked her fingers together.

"T-thank you," She manage to mutter weakly, Frans had to stop himself before he burst out laughing. Naruto had just shrugged it off, 'man was that boy clueless!'

"You too Shino!" Naruto exclaimed as Shino walked out wearing his new clothing. Shino himself just 'Hn' ed before walking to stand beside them.

After they got done with goodbye's and thank you's they departed, it was well into the evening by then so they all decided to head home.

"G-guys before w-we head h-home there i-is something I-I forgot to t-tell you," Hinata said causing her 2 teammates to halt and stare at her. "I-I ran i-into Kurenai-Sensei on t-the way to t-the meeting spot t-this morning a-and told m-me to tell y-you guys that t-tomarrow we start our f-first mission."

Naruto smiled and jumped in the air hooting out a happy 'finally', Shino just rolled his eyes. Hinata giggled at Naruto's obvious enthusiasm.

With that done they all headed home to get rest for the next day, a smile on their lips. Hinata was happy because she got to spent time with Naruto, Shino because he got to see his teammates happy and Naruto because he finally had friends to share time with.

End Chapter

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