A/N: *Continues to frown in thought* I can't remember if I released a chapter yesterday or if I just dreamt I had, so I am releasing one to make sure as the website isn't telling me either…I doubt anyone is going to complain though :P
Naruto awoke to the consistent ringing of his alarm clock, he pressed the button to silence the device and slowly stretched upwards, he had had his first day at the Academy he had made what he hoped would become a good friendship and had managed to keep his true skill hidden, well at least he hoped he had. Naruto pinched the bride of his nose as he sighed, something was plaguing his mind and he knew the source, 'That Uchiha.' He recognized the look in the boy's eyes, loneliness the kind that someone hides and needs to be saved from, 'The same kind I dealt with.' Naruto stared at the wall in front of him a burning determination ignited within him 'I Will Help Him.'
Naruto arrived at the Academy a while later, most of his class was gather in front of the large bulletin board, he had forgotten the results of their evaluation were going to be posted today, he noticed Hinata standing off to the side shyly, he frowned 'She is strong but she lack confidence,' He walked over to her flashing a beaming smile "Hey Hinata-chan."
"N-Naruto-kun, Good morning." She gave him a small smile as she averted her gaze to the floor.
"So what did you score?" He asked lowering his head and looking at her out of the corner of his eye, making her raised her head and look at him.
"I-I d-don't know j-just yet." She squeaked out.
"Well let's find out," Naruto replied with a smile as he pulled her along by the wrist, clearing a path to the board.
Hinata didn't have to object or faint before the contact was gone, she was staring at the blonde in utter admiration and something else which the young girl did not understand. She turned her head to look at the board, he had literally dragged her too. Both Naruto and Sasuke were tied with perfect scores of one hundred out of one hundred.
Naruto stared at the girl's scores, before turning to Hinata with a look of both admiration and pride, he indicated for her to look with his head and she did, she sat on top of all the girls in her class.
"Told ya, what you did yesterday was very impressive." Naruto nodded his approval and gave her a thumbs up.
She blushed deeply and averted her gaze again "T-Thanks N-Naruto-kun."
Naruto spotted a very familiar tuft of black-hair over his friends head and smiled with a shake of his head "Hinata I will see you at lunch, there is something I have to…deal with."
She nodded "O-Okay Naruto-kun, I will see you then."
"Same spot as yesterday." He said with a wave as he walked away from the her.
Naruto stepped out onto the large practice field, he knew it was number 45 from his own experience, he noticed the Uchiha wailing on one of the wooden stumps in the centre of the field, he approached him slowly and leaned against one of the three pieces of wood, watching him and waiting.
Sasuke noticed him and stopped "You need something?" He demanded.
"You and I are tied for first," Naruto said simply, gauging his reaction, other than slightly widening his eyes, he kept his face remarkable under control "Tell me, what do you train for?"
Sasuke stared at him for a few minutes "I train to become stronger, I will kill a certain man…And take my vengeance."
Naruto nodded "Do you want me to show you why I am stronger than you?"
The boy stared at him in surprised disbelief 'What is this blonde-idiot on about we are even on the score!' "You are not stronger than me."
"Oh, but I am," Naruto raised his arms and unclipped the weights, they clattered the two ground with a loud crash, he also removed the ones from his legs, realization dawned on Sasuke's face "I was wearing these in our spar yesterday as well." Naruto disappeared in front of the Uchiha before reappearing behind him, Kunai placed on his throat for emphasis.
"You just died, now would you like me to explain why I am stronger than you?" Naruto asked again.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and nodded, both curious and pissed at his apparent weakness.
"You train only for yourself, therein lies your weakness," Naruto announced sharply "When you have something, something above anything else you wish to protect, you fight with greater ferocity than even yourself could have considered possible."
Sasuke stared at the blonde in front of him 'Foster your hatred, only then will you become strong!' His brothers words rang around in his mind and he clutched at his head as he fell to his knee's "No! I Need to Avenge my clan! Only Hatred can get me the power I require."
"If that is what you truly believe defeat me," Naruto stated flatly "If hatred is true power you should have no problem."
Sasuke bounded to his feet, throwing blow after blow at the blonde in front of him, without his weights on, Naruto dodged him effortlessly the Uchiha never got remotely close to landing a blow, he went at his full speed for a long time before he collapsed, he stared at the ground under him in a mix of embarrassment and defeat.
Naruto kneeled down and held out his hand "I want to protect this entire village, I will become Hokage. This is what makes me strong…What do you want to do Sasuke?" Sasuke expected pity, he received nothing but respect and kindness and…understanding.
"I-I don't know." Sasuke chokingly admitted.
"I didn't know either for a long time, I was like you…completely alone and in many way's I still am," Naruto half consoled and half admitted "I am only just now starting to make friends, but I want to protect everyone…From what I went through and whatever else threatens them."
Naruto pulled Sasuke to his feet "Find what you want to protect and let it strengthen you Sasuke." Naruto retrieved his weights and left the training field.
"Wait Naruto!" The blonde turned around.
"What if they go after what you wish to protect?" Sasuke asked although he felt he already knew the answer.
"There is no guarantee they won't, so will you be strong enough to protect it?" Naruto asked in challenge.
Sasuke nodded and sat down, he crossed his legs and took a long deep-breath 'Find Something to protect.' The words rang in his mind loudly, the blotted everything out and he felt…Fulfilled, he knew what was just said was nothing but the truth and it helped considerablely. But Sasuke found himself in a new situation 'How?' He thought simply.
Naruto sighed and leaned his head against the wall as he rounded the corner 'That went a lot smoother than I anticipated.' He thought with a smile, he peered around the wall to see the Uchiha sitting in a state of meditation, he nodded and spun around off to find his Violet eyed companion. Naruto noticed two thing when he arrived at the small frame where he had first shared lunch with Hinata, the first was that she held a second Bento and was smiling happily as she waited. He forgot whatever else as he walked up to her.
"Hinata-chan," He announced happily "Good to know you didn't stand me up." He flashed her a grin.
Hinata pursed her lip and placed her free hand on her hip "Well I guess you don't want this lunch I made you." She raised her nose into the air and huffed.
"You didn't stutter," Naruto pointed out quickly "And I am sorry, please I would love to eat the lunch you made." He fell to his knees and practically begged, partly because he had left his wallet at home and he felt like his stomach would soon attempt to eat his other organs.
She held out the small blue box and flashed a very small smile "I-It's alright N-Naruto-kun."
He accepted the box with a wide grin while he scratched the back of his head "Thanks Hinata-chan, I left my wallet at home and didn't pack anything."
"I-If you'd like, I-I c-could m-make l-lunch f-for t-the t-two of u-us, N-Naruto-kun." She let out a long breath, followed quickly by a silent prayer.
Naruto blinked and then rubbed his eyes with back of his hands 'Is this real life?' He frowned before shaking his head "That would be wonderful Hinata-chan, to enjoy your cooking everyday would be a dream come true." He flashed her a wide-grin, blissfully unaware of the effect of those few words.
Hinata's vision darkened and she pinched her arm slightly, forcing herself to remain conscious, she took another deep breath and smiled "A-all r-right then, D-don't worry a-about l-lunch anymore N-Naruto-kun."
Naruto nodded as he broke the chopsticks, pulling the lid off the Bento he looked inside, the design made him giggle slightly he gave Hinata a pointed look "Hinata-chan, one might think you have ulterior motives." He gave her a sly smile and her face darkened considerable, if you looked close enough he swore he saw steam fly from her ears. He looked down at the small design, he assumed it was supposed to be his face and if it wasn't he was going to think the same way anyway, the rice made up his face, three black whiskers on each cheek, two pieces of sushi made up his eyes, fried shrimp and other assortments made up the hair "This is really nice Hinata-chan." He complimented with a nod.
She visibly relaxed "I-I'm G-glad you l-like it N-Naruto-kun."
They ate at their respective speeds, that is to say Naruto inhaled the food and Hinata ate slowly. "Um, N-Naruto-kun, what d-did you h-have to t-take care o-of today?"
"Had a little chat with Sasuke, that's all, I think we are going to see some changes." He simply smiled at her, his word were not as cryptic as Hinata interpreted them.
A ball rang signaling the classes beginning, the pair got up and made their way over to the class room, they took their usual seat in the top right hand corner of the classroom, Naruto noticed Sasuke was not in the room as a result it was much quieter, most of the girls stared longingly waiting for the black haired brooder to arrive. Naruto pulled a single senbon from his pouch and began twirling it about on top of his index finger, he stared at the small Fuinjutsu book in front of him, the needle slowly gained speed becoming a silver blur as he spun it. Naruto got the odd feeling h was being stared at and he raised his eyebrows to peer over the book, indeed the whole class was staring at him in surprise.
"Is there something on my face?" He asked, still confused.
"A-Ano, Naruto-kun, the s-senbon." Hinata indicated, the whirling piece of metal in my hand.
"What about it," Naruto asked still confused "It helps me think." he explained simply.
The class gave him an odd look but went back to whatever it was they were doing before hand, Chouji turned his utmost attention to his bag of chips, Shikamaru remained asleep through the whole thing, Kiba threw a ball for Akamaru to catch, Shino sat still and as stoic as ever. The girl's, with the exception of Hinata, went back to staring at the door.
Another few minutes past before Sasuke entered, the girls fawned and he kept his face completely impassive although lacking his usual scowl, Hinata looked at the Uchiha a little confused 'Maybe this is what Naruto-kun meant.' She though curiously.
Sasuke glided over the classroom, he found Naruto in and silently thanked Kami, he sat in the middle with Hinata to his left leaving an empty seat that Sasuke intended to exploit. He sat next to the blonde, who merely smiled and nodded at him, before turning back to his book and continuing to twirl the senbon, Sasuke paid it little attention as he introduced himself to the shy Hyuuga, who stuttered out her name and shook his hand.
All of Sasuke's fan girls stared in wide-eyed disbelief and anger at the fact that their Sasuke had not done the same thing with them.
"Careful Sasuke, don't feed the wolves." Naruto warned, peering over the top of his book. Sasuke followed his eyes and paled, 'Oh Kami, please protect me from these women.' He thought as the large group glared at him and his two companions.
"Naruto," Sasuke whispered "How do you manage to be one of the best and avoid fan girls completely?"
"I don't pretend to be above human attraction," Naruto whispered in answer "Maybe you should pick one, you have a pretty wide selection."
"But if I do that won't it hurt the others?" Sasuke asked a little confused.
"They can't all have you, your only one man, picking one sooner rather than later will help the rest move on." Naruto replied flatly.
"But I can't just go with anyone, they have to be able to be the wife of a clan head a strong Kunouchi or something right?" Sasuke asked.
"You are thinking with the wrong muscle," Naruto replied not looking up, he poked his chest lightly "This will tell you which one you should choose," He tapped his head "This won't."
Sasuke tuned his gaze on the girls in front of him, many blush and looked away, it occurred to them he had seen this reaction from someone else, he looked over Naruto's head, and gave himself a small mental pat on the back, Hinata was just staring at Naruto lovingly while his attention was occupied. He folded his fingers together and rested his chin on them while he thought "Hey Naruto, do you have any feeling for anyone?"
Naruto eyes flickered slightly in Hinata's direction it was almost uncaught by the Uchiha prodigy, almost. "Not really, I am a little young for that." Naruto answered flatly.
Sasuke smirked 'He is telling a little bit of the truth, but I doubt even he knows the whole truth himself.' Sasuke thought a little content at the things he had learned from his exchanges with the blonde, a smile actually broke out on the Uchiha's face, albeit a small one, but at least there was a genuine smile of happiness on his face for once.
Naruto noticed "Oh, it can smile." He snickered.
Sasuke just lightly bopped him the smile widened slightly, he continued to study the people around him, he found his eyes falling on a certain pinkette more than the rest of the girls in his class, he shook his head as Iruka entered the room, turning his attention to his classes.
Naruto sat in a clearing surrounded by his clones, all practicing various things, he had learned his Affinity was Wind and so a large group was dedicated to attempting to cut a leaf in half, the rest were working on Taijutsu, some on Shuriken throwing he stood up and sighed, slowly dispersing the clones as he walked towards the Village, he had mastered yet another Jutsu over the few weeks he had been trained, he smirked as the memories filed themselves and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, he stood beside the cave and entered slowly sliding the rock back into place as he made his way towards Ichiraku's.
He sat on his bed unable to sleep, he reflected on the day everything was progressing well, Sasuke was gradually changing, Hinata was gaining confidence. He rubbed his chin slowly as he thought well into the night before sleep finally claimed him.