Naruto: A New Direction
Chapter 2: A Day in the Park
The sun rose over the horizon, illuminating all before it. The rays stretched out until they filtered in through one particular window in one particular house—the house of the Fifth Hokage and his family. As the sunlight entered the rooms, it eventually settled on the face of a young blonde who had spiky hair and unusual whisker marks on his cheeks. As the sun warmed the youth's face, he pulled his blanket over his head to shield his eyes from the sun. It may have been time for him to wake up, but he did not want to wake up just yet. To him it just felt too early to get up, until he remembered what today was and he suddenly felt wide awake.
"Oh yeah, today is the day!" The child yelled as he leapt from his bed and thrust his arms up. "All right, I can't believe I almost slept through it! Today is the day that mom promised to take me to the park!"
The child then leapt out of bed and undressed himself before racing into the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom. This child's name was Naruto Namikaze, the son of the Fifth Hokage and the unpredictable hyperactive wild boy of the Hidden Leaf Village. It was said that this child had more energy than even his mom; he was a proverbial ball of fire. But he was also known by another name—the demonic child. Ever since he was old enough to remember, more than half of the village had treated Naruto badly because of something he could not remember. His father, Minato Namikaze, had hoped that rumors would not spread about the hospital incident. But there were plenty of witnesses and eavesdroppers at the scene to learn enough. Apparently, the mysterious explosion had started in Naruto's room and he was virtually untouched. Some said it was a miracle, while others said it was an ill omen and that the child was possessed. Whatever the reason, most people were afraid of Naruto and fear more often than not breeds hatred.
Kushina had tried her best to protect Naruto by keeping him home with her, where he was safe. Ever since that incident, she barley let Naruto out of her sight; the fear of the hospital stayed with her for a long time. Kushina was so afraid that she would not let Naruto sleep in a bed alone until he was one and a half years old. Kushina found it harder to get over her fears when she took Naruto out for a walk and noticed all of the terrible looks people were giving Naruto. She had simply wanted to keep Naruto in the house all the time, but that proved far more difficult than she thought. Naruto would often sneak out of the house to explore the Hidden Leaf Village. Kushina did catch him eventually, but not until after he disappeared for more than an hour. After a few escapes, Naruto had found several places around the village that he really liked, one of them was a ramen stand named Ichiraku's Ramen. Every time Naruto snuck out, he made sure to make at least one trip to the ramen stand—which was where Kushina usually caught him in the middle of his third bowl of ramen. Naruto really enjoyed the ramen stand, especially since the owner, Teuchi, and his daughter, Ayame, treated him with such kindness before they even knew he was the son of the Fifth Hokage.
After a while, Kushina became frustrated with trying to contain her rambunctious son and finally decided that she would take him to the park if Naruto agreed to stop sneaking out, to which Naruto quickly agreed. The day Kushina had promised had come and Naruto could not wait; he struggled to get his favorite t-shirt—an orange shirt with a blue swirl on the front—over his head. He then ran over to his chest of drawers, opened them, and pulled out his favorite pair of goggles. He had gotten these goggles at the toy store a while back; the owner had refused to sell them to him, until his mother came and set him straight. Since then, Naruto always wore his goggles as a sort of way of saying thanks to his mom. With his goggles secured on his head, Naruto raced downstairs to the kitchen, where a young, light-purple haired maid was busy at work setting the table for breakfast.
"Good morning, Aoi," Naruto said as he sat down at the table.
"Oh, good morning Naruto," Aoi replied happily, "How are you this morning?"
"Great! I haven't been this excited in…ever!"
Aoi smiled as she watched the little blonde boy sit at his table, swinging his legs excitedly. Aoi had been in the service to the Fifth Hokage since he had taken office. She had known Naruto since the day he was born…as well as the rumors that surrounded him. But she was not as easily swayed as most of the other villagers, she did not believe in the rumors about Naruto being some sort of demon child. She considered Naruto more of a family member; Naruto had even referred to her as "big sister" on a few occasions, which Aoi liked being called a sister, since she did not have any family in the village. It was a happy life for both of them.
As Naruto sat at the table, waiting to be served breakfast, he thought all the cool things he was going to do at the park. Sliding down the slide, swinging on swings, spinning on the merry-go-round, and the best of all meeting other kids. Naruto could not understand why, but his mother barely let him out of the house. He did take her with on a few shopping trips, but that was about it. For Naruto, a trip to the park would be awesome, especially since it would give him a chance to meet kids his own age. The truth was, Minato had managed to convince Kushina of going to the park; if she had had her way, Naruto would have just stayed locked up in his room like a caged bird. As the thoughts of what Naruto was going to do at the park entered his mind, he became even more excited and started to jump in his seat.
"Come on, Aoi, hurry up! I want to go the park as soon as possible!"
"Now, now, Naruto, don't rush. Wait for your parents to come down. After all, they need to eat as well."
Naruto groaned and crossed his arms as he pouted. "Fine…man, this stinks, why can't they just wake up already! I want to go to the park now!"
"Oh, Naruto, don't act like such a spoiled brat. Your parents work very hard, both of them—your father is the Hokage and your mother…well, she has it hard enough dealing with someone as hyperactive as you. It's no wonder she hasn't returned to her duties as a ninja yet." Naruto just gave a gruff 'hmph' as he turned his head to the side. "Sigh, look Naruto, I know you were excited about going to the park today, but don't blame your parents for wanting to sleep in. Like I said, they both have tough lives. Just let them sleep in, after all they let you do it all the time…"
"Fine…but if they're not down here in less than five, I'm going upstairs and waking them up myself!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Well, looks like someone is being a little sourpuss this morning…"
Naruto quickly turned around to see his mom and dad standing in the entryway, side by side.
"Mommy, Daddy, you're finally awake!" Naruto cheered as he leapt out of his seat, ran over to his parents, and wrapped around one of their legs.
"Easy, their kiddo, we just woke up," Minato said as he gently pried Naruto loose from his leg. "We don't have your stamina; give us a chance to get started, all right?"
Naruto grinned from ear to ear. "Okay, dad…" Minato then put Naruto back in his seat at the table as Aoi laid several plates before each of them.
As Aoi began to serve the food, Minato could not help but reminisce, looking at his family as they sat around the table. He first looked at Naruto, who began to wolf down his breakfast and Kushina started to scold him. Minato thought about how much Naruto looked like him, yet he possessed the shape of his mother's eyes as well as her personality, spirit, and vitality. He remembered when Naruto was old enough to walk, how he would race around the house at breakneck speeds…for a baby, anyway. He remembered when Naruto learned his first three words—mommy, daddy…and ramen. Minato couldn't help but laugh at how much his son was so much like his mother when she was younger. Minato remembered when Naruto made his first big grin, which made him show his gums; Minato couldn't help but laugh, which made Naruto laugh for the first time ever. Minato then thought about how strange Naruto was; even though he was still a baby, he rarely ever cried—only when he was hungry or needed changing. Truly, Naruto was one of those children who were more fascinated by the world than frightened by it; whether it was people or places, nothing frightened Naruto.
Minato then focused his attention on Kushina and couldn't help but sigh a little. He remembered when she was much younger, how rambunctious she used to be, how she pulled pranks on people who upset her, and how she could not get enough of ramen—he once made a joke saying that ramen broth ran through her veins instead of blood. Kushina was a tomboy when she was much younger and, judging by Naruto's attitude, he was going to be very much like his mother. Minato could only hope his son would someone to balance him out; his thoughts quickly returned to Kushina. After that incident at the hospital, Kushina stuck to Naruto like glue; she could not be pried off Naruto even with a crowbar. She had actually moved Naruto's crib into their bedroom for the first eight months after she had brought Naruto home from the hospital. Kushina would not even take Naruto for a walk unless Minato had several ANBU guards accompanying them. Thankfully, Kushina had relaxed over the years, but she was still afraid to let Naruto out of the house.
The first time Naruto wanted to leave the house, Kushina threw a fit and sent him to his room. Naruto did not know what he had done to make his mother so angry, but he was not going to let his mom stop him from leaving. He snuck out the same day and explored more than a third of the Leaf Village. Apparently, he was so excited that he did not even notice the glares some people were giving. During his walk, Naruto had found this little stand called "Ichiraku's Ramen" and decided to have lunch. Since that day, Naruto has looked for any possible chance to sneak out of the house again to visit that same ramen stand—although Aoi's cooking was not bad, there was just something about Ichiraku's that always drew Naruto back to it. Minato laughed so hard when his son told about what he had discovered and hoped that one day they could all eat there, as a family. Kushina was furious when she learned of Naruto's outing, but found it hard to just stay mad with him. Minato could tell this was a sign that Kushina's fear was starting to ebb away; that is most likely why Kushina agreed to take Naruto to the park today.
Once everyone had finished their breakfast, Aoi gathered up all the dishes and placed them in the sink to be washed later. Naruto was so excited that he practically burst out of his seat and ran to the front door to await his parents.
Kushina giggled. "That boy sure has a lot of energy…" she said.
"He get's that from you," Minato said, "come on, we better get moving. If we leave waiting for too long, his head might explode."
Minato and Kushina got up, headed for the door, and found Naruto there—jittery, bouncing on his toes with a big grin on his face. They then outstretched their hands and Naruto took them both without hesitation…
As Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha, he held on tightly to his parents' hands, as if they were the only things holding him back from racing at full speed straight to the park. Naruto was so happy that he did not even notice the cold, suspicious glares from the occasional civilians. As they continued down the street, Kushina kept a watchful on the civilians that shot nasty glares at her son; it was as if she was responding to those stares with her own wicked glare that said "mess with my kid and you're dead." For Kushina, keeping Naruto safe was all that mattered to her—she had already lost so much, it was hard to believe she was still sane. Minato had also noticed the dark glares some people were shooting at Naruto, but he was glad his son was so happy that he did not even notice them. He also noticed Kushina's eyes, which were filled the protective nature any mother has for her child.
Naruto and his parents continued on their way to the park together until they arrived at the Hokage building, which made Naruto sulk because he knew his dad would have to leave to go to work. But he did not want him to. As Minato started to let go of Naruto's hand, he quickly felt a light tug and looked down to see Naruto now had both his hands on Minato's.
"Do you have to go to work, daddy?" Naruto asked with sad, innocent, "Can't you please come with us to the park today? Pretty please?"
Minato smiled and leaned down to face his son. "I'm really sorry, Naruto, but I have to work today. I'm the Hokage and that means I have a lot of responsibilities that I can't ignore. I promise you, whenever a free moment I'll zip over to the park to visit you and your mother, okay?" Naruto still had a frown on his face, but he nodded to show he understood. "That's my boy…now you behave for your mother and try not to drive her crazy, all right?"
Naruto perked up a little and nodded once more before his father ruffled his hair and headed off to the Hokage tower to perform his daily task of filling out paper work—that free moment Minato promised to Naruto could not come sooner in Minato's mind. Kushina waved goodbye to her husband as he headed inside to his office before she took Naruto's hand in hers once again and continued walking with him to the park. As Kushina walked with Naruto, she realized that her son was not as energetic as when they had left the mansion. She quickly realized that when Naruto's dream of going to the park most likely involved doing it with the whole family together. It saddened Kushina to see her son like this, but maybe making new friends at the park would help. And so, Naruto and Kushina walked past the Hokage tower and continued on their way to the park.
As Naruto walked with his mom to the park, he began to feel colder all of sudden, like there were eyes starring at him from the shadows, glaring at him just because he was alive. He was afraid to look up for fearing that he might actually see these eyes. So, he hung his head low and moved in closer to his mom. Kushina noticed this and felt deeply depressed; she knew her son could feel the cold stares many people were giving him as they continued to walk down the street. Kushina almost wished she could just walk up to those people and smash their faces in for how they were looking at her son. Fortunately for both of them, the walk to the park from the Hokage's tower was not very long. Before Naruto or Kushina realized it, they had arrived at the park.
Once they had arrived, Kushina was actually glad she brought Naruto to the park. There were so many kids here about Naruto's age; hopefully they would be able to cheer up Naruto. That's when Kushina realized Naruto was still holding her hand and his head was still hung down low.
"Hey, Naruto," Kushina said with a gentle nudge, "what are you still doing standing here with your mom? Don't you want to go play with the other kids?"
Naruto looked out over the park and his face suddenly lit up. There were kids everywhere, kids his age, all of whom Naruto saw as potential friends for him. Without a second thought or word, Naruto broke free from his mother's hand and started run off to the park. Kushina was a little reluctant to let her son go, but she also realized he needed this. He needed to be with other kids, to make new friends and just have fun while he still can. Kushina walked over to a nearby bench and took a seat as she watched run off to play with the other kids. But as soon as she sat down, a couple of unexpected visitors walked behind her.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Red Hot-Blooded Habanera…" Kushina quickly turned around to see two very familiar faces. "How's it going Kushina? Haven't seen you in ages."
Kushina was happy to see both of these women again after so many years. One had spiky, messy brown hair, a wild looking face, and two red fang marks on her cheeks, wearing a standard Leaf jônin vest, a ripped sleeve shirt and black ninja pants. The other woman was much more tame; she had neat dark brown hair tied in a ponytail wearing a red dress. Kushina could not help but feel surprised when she saw these familiar faces.
"Tsume, Yoshino, is that you?" Kushina asked. "I can't believe it! It's been so long!"
"No kidding," said Tsume as she walked over and sat down next to Kushina. "It was getting to be so long, I thought you would never leave your house. Seriously, I think you were spoiling the kid, coddling him for all these years."
"Oh really, Tsume," Yoshino said with a smug look on her face, "I seem to recall you balling for over an hour when your son Kiba hid in your own house and you couldn't find him…"
Tsume gritted her teeth. "Shut it, Yoshino. At least my son isn't a lazy ass who just sits around all day cloud gazing!"
A vein popped in Yoshino's head. "What did you say just say, dog breath!"
"You heard me, prune face!"
Kushina just sighed as he reminisced about the old days, with Tsume and Yoshino fighting at the drop of a kunai and Kushina had to intervene to break them up, which was odd considering Kushina was also known for having a short temper; how these three women ever managed to be one of the most dangerous all kunoichi squad in the Hidden Leaf Village was beyond anyone's guess. Kushina was so deep in thought while trying to keep order between Tsume and Yoshino, that she did not notice Naruto stumble and fall to the ground. She was so distracted, that she did not notice Naruto spot a grasshopper. Kushina was so distracted, she did not notice Naruto chase after the grasshopper into the bushes and disappear…
On the other side of the park, another group of people was on their way to the park. One of them was an elderly man, hunched over, accompanying two young ladies to the park. The old man was smiling, revealing he had some teeth missing; he also had heterochromia—one of his eyes green, the other was blue. He wore a simple, traditional dark brown Japanese jacket, a light tan gi, and a brown bandana. His name was Aki Haruken, but his family members and close friends simply called him Grampy. As for the two young girls he was escorting, they couldn't more different from each other. One of the girls had long, blonde hair, fair skin, and heterochromia—she had a light green eye and a blue eye. She was wearing a simple magenta dress and had a red clip in her hair. Her name was Midori Haruken, Aki's granddaughter. As for the other girl, she had short dark blue hair cut in hime-style with chin-length strands framing her face, fair skin, and lavender-gray tinted white eyes. She was wearing a pink kimono with flowers decorating it. Her name was Hinata Hyuga, a member of the illustrious Hyuga clan.
"Thanks a lot for taking us to the park, Grampy," Midori said as she twirled around her grandpa.
"Oh, it's no problem at all, Midori," Aki said as he smiled at his granddaughter's energy, "you two have been cooped up in that house for far too long. You needed to get out and play with kids your own age. The park is the best place to do that."
"I'm so excited!" Midori exclaimed as she ran next to Hinata. "I can't wait to make some new friends, can you Hichan?"
"Uh, y-yeah," Hinata said, timidly.
Midori smiled as Hinata put her fingers together like a little tent. It was something she did whenever she was nervous, which was usually all of the time. Aki couldn't but laugh as he watched the two girls walk together, side by side. They were such polar opposites; it was hard to believe they were so close. Midori was outgoing, free spirited, hyperactive, loud, and very bold. Where as Hinata was normally shy, timid, unsure about herself, and very quiet. Hinata's clan was well known for its confidence, so whenever someone saw Hinata, they wondered if she was even a member of the Hyuga clan. And while it was also true that Midori and Hinata were very different, they were always seen together no matter the circumstances.
"Oh, I can't wait to get to the park!" Midori said in a burst of excitement. "I'm going to slide down the slide! Swing of the swings! Spin on the merry-go-round!" Midori kept going down her list of things she was going to do once they arrived at the park while Hinata remained quiet, listening to Midori go on and on.
Eventually, the three of them arrived at the park. Hinata had to cover her ears when Midori let out an ear-piercing squeal of excitement when she saw the place.
"Grandpa, look it, look it! So many people! Come on, Hichan, let's go!" Midori raced down the park while Hinata stayed back for a little while.
Aki looked down at the young heiress of the Hyuga clan. He could not help but think about how unique Hinata was among the rest of the Hyuga clan. She always had trouble making friends with other people; that was part of the reason he brought to the park with his granddaughter. Hopefully, Hinata would make some new friends here. But it looked like Hinata was having some trouble taking that first step, so he decided she just needed the right motivation…
"Oh, my back!" Aki cried, startling Hinata. The old man was now on the ground, both his hands on his back like he was in extreme pain.
Hinata gasped. "G-Grandpa Aki, are you okay? What happened?"
"Oh…Hinata, I think my back went out. I can't even move. You need to go get help. Hurry! Go down there and find someone to help me! And hurry, please…oh, the pain."
"D-Don't worry, I-I'll go find someone right now. Oh dear, this bad…"
Hinata then ran off down the hill towards the park to find an adult who would be able to help. Aki smiled as he watched his little ploy work perfectly; Hinata was always shy around new people, but she never seemed to hesitate when some one was in trouble and that was always the perfect motivator to get her moving.
Worked like a charm, Aki thought as he stood back up, perfectly fine. Now, to sit back and see what happens… He knew Hinata was a smart girl; no doubt she would figure out he was faking by the time she reached the bottom of the hill.
Hinata was still running down the hill, when she suddenly tripped and started to roll. She eventually stopped at a patch of bushes, where she got up and looked up at herself; her kimono was absolutely filthy. Hinata began to brush herself off, when she heard a strange rustling noise coming from the bushes and froze. Hinata was scared because when bushes were rustling that usually meant a wild animal was hiding in them. Hinata tried to move away, but her feet felt like they could not move. The rustling kept getting louder and louder; soon, Hinata could hear something groaning and she became terrified because it sounded like a giant ferocious beast. But then, the rustling stopped for a moment and Hinata moved in a little closer. Suddenly, something…or rather someone…popped out from the bushes, shocking Hinata.
What had popped out of the bushes was not an animal; it was a person—a young boy to be precise. At that moment, Hinata felt something well up inside of her, but it was not fear she felt. It was a like a heat was gathering in her cheeks as she stared at this mysterious boy. He had spiky, blonde hair and sparkling cerulean eyes; Hinata could not explain it—she wanted to look away and yet she found she could not. As she continued to stare, Hinata realized that her cheeks were getting warmer and warmer. There was something about this boy that made her feel…something.
As for Naruto, he was curious about the strange person in front of him. He did not know who she was or why she was so quiet, so he decided he would have to break the ice and get her talking. So, he pulled himself out of the bushes, brushed himself off, and spoke to the strange girl…
"Hi, my name's Naruto, what's your name?" Naruto said bluntly.
Hinata was in a daze for a few seconds before she said something. "H-Hello, m-m-my name is…is…" Hinata wanted to say her name, but she found she could not; no matter how hard she tried, the words just wouldn't come out. Just when it looked like she would not be able to say anything, a certain energetic girl came to her rescue…
"Hichan! There you are!" Midori said as she walked up to both of them, waving her arms wildly in the air as if she was trying to get their attention. "I was wondering where you were. You sure took your sweet time getting down here. I've already made several new friends…"
Naruto began to feel left out and finally coughed to get the new girl to notice.
"Huh, oh hello there, I didn't see you," Midori said.
I was standing right next to you, how could you not notice me? Naruto thought, a little annoyed at being ignored.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, little porcupine head…"
Naruto nearly fell over when he heard Midori's nickname for him.
"My name's not porcupine head! It's Naruto! Naruto Namikaze!" Naruto screamed.
Hinata gasped. Namikaze was the surname of the current Hokage; that meant that this boy was…
"Hmmm, you don't like a Naruto to me," Midori said as she scratched her chin. "Ruchan sounds much better!"
This time, Naruto fell onto the ground. "That's not any better either!"
"Well, too bad, I'm going to call you Ruchan from now on. Well, I'm going to go play; you have fun Hichan and don't get too nervous around Ruchan!"
"It's Naruto, Naruto!" Naruto yelled as Midori ran off. "Man, what is that girl's problem…anyways, what's your real name?" Naruto turned to Hinata. "It can't be Hichan…"
"O-Oh, i-i-i-it's Hinata H-Hyuga," Hinata said rather softly.
"Hinata, huh? That's a very pretty name," Naruto said with a huge grin.
Hinata quickly felt her cheeks get even warmer. Before she knew what she was doing, she had her fingers together in a sort of tent and she could explain why.
"Hey, do want to go play on the swings?" Naruto said, breaking Hinata out of her trance.
"Uh, um, o-okay…" Hinata said.
"Great, let's go!" Naruto reached out and grabbed Hinata's hand, which made the poor girl feel warmer.
Kushina was having a wonderful time catching up with her old friends. She had to admit, she liked spending time with Yoshino and Tsume; it reminded her of her time as a young ninja, going off on all sorts of adventures…and how she usually got her team in trouble as a result of her recklessness. She was just glad to have such wonderful friends to talk too and she had to admit it was good that she got to see them.
"You know, Yoshino, this isn't fair," Tsume, said, "we've been talking this whole and haven't given Kushina the chance to say anything."
"Good point," Yoshino said, "so, Kushina, what exactly have you been up to these past few years."
"Well, I've mainly been looking after Naruto…" Kushina said.
"For four years!" Tsume said, astonished, "Geez, Kushina, that's why god invented babysitters. You could've found someone to watch Naruto…"
"Tsume, you do not want to finish that sentence," Yoshino said.
Tsume quickly remembered what happened the first time Kushina used a new babysitter when Naruto a little over two years old; she was an elderly villager who was supposed to be trustworthy. But when Kushina returned home that same night, she found Naruto gagging on the floor with the babysitter standing over him, holding a bottle of poison, saying, "Die, you demonic spawn! Go back to hell where you belong!" That day, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanera was reborn for a split second.
The strangest part of that day, however, was that Naruto was perfectly fine. When Kushina rushed him to the hospital, the doctors said that the poison had not affected him at all; what's more, Naruto did not seem to remember the babysitter had hurt him. But that did not matter to Kushina; on that day, she swore to never let another stranger near her child ever again—at least, not with any complete strangers. Once Tsume realized her mistake, she decided she needed to change topic.
"Uh, so, where is that little tyke of yours anyway?" Tsume asked as she scanned the park.
Kushina instantly perked up. "Oh, he's right over…" Kushina looked, but could not see Naruto anywhere. "What the…? Where is he? Naruto, where are you dear? NARUTO?"
Kushina quickly stood up and began a frantic search for Naruto.
"Oh great," Yoshino said, annoyed, "You see what you did Tsume? Now you've gone and worried Kushina to death."
"Oh right, like this is all my fault," Tsume retorted, shaking her head, "come on, we better give her a hand before she has a heart attack…"
Meanwhile, Naruto was having a wonderful time with Hinata as they both swung of the swings.
"This is great, isn't it Hinata?" Naruto said as he swung.
"Uh-huh…"Hinata said softly, nodding.
"Hey, I wonder how high I can go on this thing," Naruto said. He then began to swing harder and harder, going higher and higher.
Hinata watched as Naruto continued to swing higher and higher…until he went too high and flew right off his swing.
Naruto screamed as he flew through the air before falling down to the ground towards another kid that was walking by at the same time. Naruto knocked his head against the other kid before he fell to the ground. Hinata quickly stopped swinging and ran over to make sure he was okay. Naruto groaned as he rubbed his head and got up; he then looked over to the other kid to make sure he was all right.
"Oh, my head," Naruto said, "Hey, you okay, kid?"
The other groaned as he rubbed his head. "I think so…man, what is that head of yours made of, iron?"
Hinata walked to Naruto and was relieved to find that he was okay. She then looked at the other kid and was surprised when she saw his clan symbol on his shirt: a red and white fan with a golden sun behind it, the symbol of the Uchiha clan. Hinata did not know what to do; her father had told her never to speak with any member of the Uchiha clan, that they were not worthy of speaking to her. When the young Uchiha boy stopped rubbing his head and looked up, he was surprised to see a member of the Hyuga clan, he was well aware of the relationship between the two clans, but he could not tell if this girl harbored any hostility. Rather than stay to find out, the boy decided it would be best if he left, when Naruto spoke.
"Hey, sorry about hitting your head," Naruto apologized as he got to his feet. "My name's Naruto Namikaze, by the way, and this is Hinata. What's your name?"
The boy was utterly shocked that this kid had no idea who he was. The Uchiha was rather infamous in the Leaf Village; it was hard for them to walk down the streets without being persecuted. But it seemed that this boy did not harbor any ill will towards the Uchiha clan.
The boy decided to take a chance. "My name is…Sasuke…Uchiha," the boy said slowly. He expected Naruto to say or do something hurtful and run away, but that was not the case.
"It's nice to meet you Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto said nonchalantly, "hey, do you want to come play with us?"
Sasuke was utterly shocked. Just this morning, he had received several harsh comments from a few villagers and their children. Most of the kids in the park had also been avoiding him like he had the plague. But now, here this boy, a boy his own age who knew his name and was asking him if he could play with him; Hinata was a little nervous about letting Sasuke play with them, but then she began to question why her father was so mistrustful of the Uchiha clan. This boy had done nothing wrong to her, so maybe they were not as bad as her father lead her to believe.
Sasuke was silent for a while, stunned to hear that someone actually asked him to play with him. Naruto was starting to become a little annoyed with Sasuke's silence and decided he needed to get his attention.
"Uh, hello, earth to Sasuke," Naruto said, waving his hand in front of the boys face, "are you in there? Hel-lo…"
"Huh, oh sorry," Sasuke said, coming back to reality, "what did you just say?"
Naruto groaned. "I said do you want to come play with us?"
"Oh, uh, sure, I guess…"
"Great, let's go! Hey, we can have a swinging contest. I bet I can go higher than you, Sasuke!"
"Oh, we'll see about that!"
Hinata did not say anything and decided to just follow Naruto's judgment. She was a tad nervous what her father might say if he ever found out she was playing with an Uchiha, but for some reason, she was not as worried as she thought she might be.
Kushina was frantically looking around for Naruto, trying to find her boy. She could not believe she had lost sight of her son already; she began to wonder where Naruto was and if he was okay. Her mind started to swim with all sorts of brutal images of her son being beaten to death—among other things. Kushina was acting so hysterical until she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, Kushina, calm down," Tsume said, bringing her old friend out of her trance.
"Oh, Tsume, I should've been keeping a better eye on Naruto," Kushina said frantically, "I should've stayed with him, I should've been watching him more closely, I should've…should've…"
"Relax Kushina," Yoshino said, "look we'll help you look for Naruto, okay? He couldn't have gotten far. I'm sure he's just fine."
"I hope you're right, Yoshino…I really do."
"Well, if you're so worried about your boy, let's start looking," Tsume said. "He should be around here somewhere; let's split up!"
Kushina nodded and Yoshino smiled, relieved to see her friend calming down. The three ladies then dispersed and began to search the park. Tsume searched over by the sandboxes while Yoshino checked over by the bushes. Kushina was checking the playground equipment and eventually reached the swings, where she stopped and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Naruto swinging back and forth on the swings, perfectly fine. She leaned against a tree as she finally calmed down; it was then that she noticed Naruto was not alone. There were three other kids with him as well, all playing on the swings with him. Kushina then saw the enormous grin on Naruto's face; she could not remember a time when she saw her son so happy before.
A little while later, Tsume and Yoshino found Kushina leaning against the tree. They walked overt to her, anxious to know is she had found Naruto; they quickly found out she had found her son. They were both relieved that Kushina had found Naruto and that he was fine.
"Well, I'll be," Tsume said, "looks like the little guy has already made some friends."
"Ah, that's sweet," Yoshino said, "he looks so happy. But I wonder who he's playing with?"
Tsume raised her nose and lightly sniffed the air. "Well, the girl is a Hyuga, no doubt about that."
Yoshino looked Tsume skeptically. "How can you tell just by smell?" she asked.
"It's that unmistakable scent of sunflowers. They have a whole grove of them growing in their backyard. As for the boy…" Tsume quickly sniffed the air again. "Uh oh, he's an Uchiha."
Yoshino was shocked. "Are you sure?"
"Definitely…although, I think he's an Eastern Uchiha, I'm not really sure."
"That's Sasuke Uchiha, Mikoto's child. I don't think he'll be a problem…" Kushina said peacefully. She was actually glad to see Naruto and Sasuke playing together; she remembered how Mikoto wished that their kids would become good friends. Judging by the looks of things, they were off to a good start.
"Well, seeing as how this crisis has been obverted, I need to get going," Tsume said, "I left Kiba in the care of his grandparents. Hopefully, he hasn't driven them crazy."
"Oh, and I need to get going too," Yoshino said, "I'm supposed to pick up groceries for dinner tonight. I really need to get going, otherwise my son and husband are just going to sit around the house all day, doing nothing! Will be all right, Kushina, now that you've Naruto?"
Kushina smiled. "I'll be just fine; you two can go ahead…"
And with that, Tsume and Yoshino left as Kushina just continued to watch her son play with his new friends.
Naruto had nearly spent the entire day doing nothing but playing with his new friends. He was so happy he almost missed lunch. The day was going so well that Naruto just did not want it to end. But once the sun started to set, Kushina told Naruto they had to leave. Naruto groaned when his mother told him that, but perked a little when she told him they could come back another time; maybe they could even visit his new friends at their homes next time.
As Naruto walked home with his mom, he had a humongous grin on his face that made Kushina laugh a little. It was nice for her to see her son so happy; she remembered how excited Naruto was when he introduced his new friends to her. She was a little shocked when she met Hinata—she did not realize she was the daughter of the Hyuga clan leader.
"Mom, today was amazing," Naruto exclaimed as he jumped a little off the ground.
"Really, how so, Naruto?" Kushina asked.
"Cause, I made some new friends," Naruto replied happily, "I can't wait to play with them again! When can I play with them again, mom? Can I play with them tomorrow? Huh, can I, can I?"
"I'm not sure Naruto," Kushina said, making Naruto feel a little downtrodden, "It would be a tad rude if we just dropped in on them unannounced. But don't worry, you'll see them again soon enough, you just have to be patient…"
"All right…" Naruto groaned.
Kushina was sorry to see Naruto look like this, but she hoped he at least understood. Unfortunately, that was not the case; as the two of them continued walking down the street, Naruto secretly planned an escape for tomorrow morning. His ultimate plan: sneak out and go see Sasuke and Hinata again, no matter what! He knew he had promised his mother never to it again, but Naruto was determined to see his new friends again.
Next Chapter: Unexpected Meetings
Naruto is determined to see his new friends again and thus sets out on a trek to explore the Leaf Village and find the homes of both Hinata and Sasuke so he can play with them again. There is just one problem: Naruto has no idea where he is going! As a result, Naruto winds up running into some new faces as he travels around the Leaf Village. Will these new people turn out to be more potential friends or are they just as mistrustful of him as the adults?
Word Count: 7343
Author's Notes: Okay, this one turned much longer than I had originally anticipated. But still, I managed to get it done. I hope you all enjoy reading this newest chapter of my fanfic.
Some of you may be wondering why I took so long with this chapter. Truth was, I just hard time getting motivated, which seems to be a chronic problem for me. I hope you can forgive me for taking so long in writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading as well.
And as for the relationship between Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke…well, that's just something you're going have to wait and see. I don't plan on making any couples too obvious too soon.
Sorry I don't have more to say on this chapter; I've just a few things going on right now that I need to focus on.
Trivia
The character Midori and her grandfather belong to a special clan called the Haruken clan, whose clan name means, "spring fist." They serve a special purpose with the Hyuga clan, which will be revealed in later chapters.
The Uchiha also has a unique status, but that will also be revealed in later chapters. I hope this tantalizes your appetites for more, my readers.