Missteps in the Right Direction Pt.1

Seeing that unruly blonde hair had become a custom routine. At times, he would be waiting for her at the school entrance or lockers in the early morning. Other times, he waited for her at cram school when he wasn't working and would walk her home. During those times, he didn't mess with her as much, but he would occasionally do something to get a rile out of her.

Then there were times he didn't show up for weeks and it was one of those times. Naruto hadn't been to school in eight days, not that she was counting. In fact, she was glad she didn't have to see his stupid face for a week.

"Why doesn't he drop out?" Ino asked Kiba one day when they were sitting out on the wooden benches outside.

Kiba was unofficially a friend of theirs, well more like Ino's, since he had sat with them and walked Ino home at times. Apparently, they lived in the same area. Sakura didn't even know how he managed to squeeze his way into their friend group, but she didn't say much to him since Ino didn't' have anything bad to say about him.

Hinata unintentionally met Kiba's gaze then he looked at Ino. "Don't know," He replied honestly. "He comes when he wants to." He shrugged.

Ino didn't look satisfied with his answer which Kiba picked up on. "I honestly don't know," he said, but even if he did know he wouldn't have told her.

"You two were friends," Sakura muttered. "Don't you know anything about your friends?"

Kiba frowned at her question. "Of course, I do! Naruto loves ramen. He can eat ten bowls and not get full. He also works at a ramen shop."

They all looked at him as if telling him to continue, but he couldn't find anything else to say. He knew Naruto worked, ate ramen, had a bad temper when you pissed him off, bullied people, but he couldn't really say anything else about him. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know anything about Naruto. He didn't know where he lived, anything about his parents, if he had any siblings, his favorite TV shows, games, or anything of that sort. He knew nothing about him.

Sakura watched the puzzled expression form on Kiba's face as he had become extremely quiet.

"I guess you weren't friends after all," Hinata muttered.

"Hinata!" Ino gasped.

Kiba let out a laugh. "I guess not. Naruto is secretive." He shrugged. "Why are you so interested in him anyway?" He directed his question to Ino.

"Is it wrong to be curious?" She questioned. "He messes with Hinata all the time. It's only natural to be curious about someone."

"I've known Naruto for years now, I can't tell you anything about him. Don't know where he lives, don't know anything about his parents, nothing! But even if I did, I wouldn't tell ya even if we aren't friends anymore."

"You ever asked him?" Ino asked.

"It's too late for that now, don't you think?" The bench squeaked as he stood up. "I'm going to get something from the cafeteria before the bell rings."

"Bye-bye," Ino said, watching him run to the door.

"Do you think he's going to drop out?" Sakura asked Hinata. "It'll be good if he does so he can leave you alone."

"At this point, I don't care," Hinata muttered. "I can take him on."

Both Ino and Sakura shook their heads. "Hinata, you can be so stubborn. You're never going to find a boyfriend with that attitude." Sakura pointed out.

"I don't want a boyfriend."

"Why not?" Ino opened her eyes in disbelief.

"Men are stupid, and I hate them."

"If you say so. You just haven't found the right guy yet," Sakura commented.

"And please don't fall for a guy like Naruto or worse, Naruto." Ino rolled her eyes.

Hinata's pale skin became flushed by Ino's comment. "I'm going to die a lone maiden." she declared.

Ino laughed. "You say that now, but I won't be surprised if you're the first out of us to get married."

"Keep dreaming."

Sakura let out a sigh, catching Ino's attention. "What's the matter, Sakura?"

"Oh, I just couldn't imagine dropping out of school when I'm so close to finishing. I met a lot of friends, so won't it be sad not to finish with them?" Before they could answer her, she sighed again. "Do you think gets sad when we bring up Naruto's name? I know he doesn't know much about him, but it seems they had a genuine friendship. I'm pretty sure he feels hurt."

"Kiba doesn't need Naruto. He's doing much better." Ino puffed out her cheeks.

"I guess but come on! I couldn't imagine hanging out with you and Hinata every day to not hanging out at all." Sakura cupped her face.

Ino hadn't really put any thought into Kiba and Naruto's friendship, but since Sakura put it that way maybe Kiba did get sad. Hinata was in her headspace while the two went back and forth talking. Despite being a mean bully, it seemed Naruto genuinely cared about Kiba enough to cut him off so he could make something out of himself. She wished he could have gone about it differently, but maybe this was the best way Kiba would take things seriously.

She almost smiled thinking about it, but that quickly went away.

"Eight days, huh?" She scribbled the number eight on the top of her workbook.

Doctors and nurses swarmed the hallways, and the screams of a mother ran after them as they wheeled her only child to a backroom. Naruto had witnessed all of this as he was shoved into the corner when they came running down the halls. The mother tried to follow after them but was stopped by a few nurses trying their best to calm her down. Seeing that scene almost made the can of soda slip from his hand, but then a smiling face came into view of the distressed mother sprawled on the floor.

"Naruto, how are you?" Mikoto asked.

The corner of his lips lifted when he saw the woman. He bowed before greeting her. "I'm doing fine and you?"

"Just taking it day by day. How's school?"

"Eh, school is fine," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

It was a dead giveaway, he was skipping school because he wasn't wearing his school uniform and it was a Wednesday, 1 PM.

Mikoto laughed sensing the boy's nervousness.

"I went to see Kaa-san, but I noticed she's sleeping." He admitted.

"She's been asleep for some time now," Mikoto said, her smile suddenly disappearing. "When I went to visit her, she was speaking to an older man. She looked a little upset, so I left."

"An older man?"

"Perhaps, it was her brother. He had red hair too." Mikoto explained.

"Oh," Naruto mumbled. "I'm going to stay a little longer. Hopefully, she'll be up by then."

"I think that's a good idea. Maybe it'll help cheer her up."

Naruto bowed. "Take care, Ms. Uchiha."

"Have a nice day," She smiled.

Just as Naruto was about to walk, he looked over his shoulder. "Ms. Uchiha?"

"Hm?"

"Did you overhear anything said?"

She placed her hand on her chin as she thought about it. "No, but I can sense the atmosphere was tense."

"Ah, okay," He muttered. "Have a nice day."

"You too, Naruto!"

Naruto ran his fingers through his hair as he turned each corner. That man being here spelled trouble. He stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and entered it. He sensed a dread washing over him when his mother's dull eyes met his own.

"Kaa-san!" He said, putting on a smile. "I came by earlier, but you were asleep."

"Is it true, Naru-chan?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Is what true?"

"Just be honest with me. Why haven't you been home in months? And why are you skipping school?" Kushina's eyes widened when she didn't get a response from him. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Kaa-san! You're going to raise your blood pressure," He quickly rushed to her side. "Just stop yelling."

Tears began to swell in her eyes. "Why are you skipping classes? Is it that job? Is that job threatening to fire you if you don't work their hours? Naru-chan! It's fine! It's fine. You don't need to skip classes."

He sat down on the chair and scooted closer to her bed. "It's fine, Kaa-san. School… it's fine."

Her trembling hands touched his face. "Naru-chan, you promised."

Naruto gently grabbed her hand and held it to the side of his face. "Kaa-san, how am I supposed to take care of you if I don't have any money? When you're all better, we don't have to move in with those people. We'll have our own place."

"I know my brother isn't the nicest person Naru-chan, but he wants what's best for you."

Naruto chewed on his lips as he didn't want to say anything more that could hurt his mother. He didn't want to tell her about the verbal abuse he had to suffer from not only his uncle but wife and cousins. How stupid he was and that he was never going to amount to anything. How they spoke ill of his dead father and sick mother. How they got into verbal altercations many times as he tried so desperately to defend their honor. Surely, that would break her heart.

"What is it? What aren't you telling me?"

"I've disappointed you."

"No! No! Not in a million years." She shook her head.

Naruto sighed. "Kaa-san, school…" he looked away from her briefly. He contemplated telling her the truth. "I'm not smart and school," he sighed again. "I'm not doing good in school, but I'll try my best." He muttered the last part.

"I wasn't very good in school either, Naru-chan but school isn't just about education but the memories you'll cherish with your peers."

"I know. I know, but… you're right, Kaa-san. I'll do better, okay?"

Kushina searched her son's eyes. "Please go home. There, you have a roof over your head."

Naruto smiled. "Yes, ma'am. Get some rest. I'll see you later, okay?" He let go of her hand and stood up slowly.

"Promise me, Naru-chan."

He grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

When he was far away from the hospital, he took out his cell phone and dialed Iruka's number. At this time, the man didn't have any classes and was most likely sitting in the teacher's room.

Not even a second into the ring, Iruka answered the phone.

"Naruto?"

"Oi, Iruka-sensei. Can you pick me up from the police station?"

"Police station? What? Naruto? Naruto!"

Naruto disconnected the line after seeing his uncle exit his work building. He spat. The man literally worked five minutes away from the hospital and only managed to see his little sister twice. He scoffed. And the second time he decides to visit her, he pulls this shit.

"Hey, old man!" Naruto called out.

Hearing that voice, his uncle, Kurama stopped in his tracks. He didn't even get to speak before Naruto lunged at him and began to beat him.

The night air was chilly, and he couldn't stop trembling. Iruka took off his cardigan sweater and threw it over Naruto. After a long time in the police station, the charges were dropped by his uncle because he did not want to come off as an eyesore for pressing charges against his nephew.

"Come on, Naruto," Iruka said, guiding him to the parking lot.

Naruto went to follow him until he spotted his uncle stepping out of the station. He quickly snapped his head in his direction. "Don't you ever visit my mother again or I'm going to light your fucking house to the ground."

Iruka's eyes widened by the threat. "Naruto! You're in front of the station. Be mindful of your words."

Kurama scoffed. "It's that stupid Namikaze's blood that runs through your veins." A sharp pain shot through his head and he quickly walked away. His face was bruised badly, and he dreaded going to work since some of his work colleagues were the ones who tried to remove Naruto from him.

"What's gotten into you?" Iruka questioned, astonished.

"He wants nothing more than to destroy my already broken life!" Naruto grabbed Iruka's cardigan and threw it to the ground. He marched off.

Iruka picked up his cardigan and ran after him. "Naruto," He called out, but that didn't stop him from storming off. "Is this how you treat the person that you asked to bail you out?" Iruka quickly caught up to him. "You don't have to tell me what's going on, but why don't you sleep by me tonight?"

"I have my own place!" He balled his fist.

"I know you do," Iruka smiled, "but don't you think you should spend the night at least?"

His shoulder trembled, but he nodded his head. Right now, he felt so broken and lost. He wanted nothing more than to lie down in the middle of the parking lot and die.

"Maybe we should stop for some ramen," He smiled as he threw the cardigan over Naruto's back.

Naruto didn't say anything else as he followed Iruka to his car. He wanted to apologize for letting him miss the rest of his classes, but he was too ashamed to say anything.

"You know if you really want to thank me. Come to school tomorrow."

He glanced at Iruka who smiled in return. "Think you can do that for me?"

Naruto glared at him. "I'll think about it," He muttered.

"Well, you have one of your school uniforms you left by me. I'll make sure it's ironed just in case you change your mind."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Iruka, I don't know how you do it. If I were you, I wouldn't want to deal with somebody like me."

Iruka cracked a smile which took Naruto by surprise. "One of these days, you'll realize it. Come on. Let's go,"

During the ride to Iruka's place, Naruto could only ponder about what he said.

It didn't take long before Naruto came back to school, and surprisingly he didn't wait for Hinata like he usually did. Hinata didn't even realize he was back until Kiba said something about a senior from Class D picking a fight with Naruto.

As long as he wasn't bothering her, she was content, is what she told herself. However, deep down inside, she wondered what she did to Naruto to make him ignore her existence.

On day three of Naruto's return, Hinata accidentally bumped into him in the empty hallways. He'd looked angry until he realized it was her.

"Hinata," He grinned. "It's been a long time since I've seen you."

She rolled her eyes. "Now you act like I exist."

Hearing that made him smile. "Did you miss me?" He held his arm out so she could use it to get up.

"Nope. Life was good knowing you weren't here." She smacked his hand out of the way and got up on her own.

"Wow~" He sang. "Why are you so mean to me?"

Hinata squinted her eyes. "Mean? You harass me every chance you get, tied me to a pole, pissed on my homework, and broke into my house! Must I go on?"

"I thought that was water under the bridge."

"Keep thinking and you're going to pop!" She threw her hands up in frustration.

"Do you believe we're almost at the end of the year?"

The look she gave him was a suspicious one. "Yeah," she said, uncertainty lingered in her voice.

Naruto looked at her then his eyes landed on the window that was slightly ajar. "October is officially here, then the next thing we know it's going to be December and then the end of the year."

"Time is flying by fast," She muttered.

"Are you going to make any New Year's wishes?" His sudden question didn't give her a chance to think about how far away his tone sounded.

"It's not like I would tell you," She shot him a glare.

He laughed which caught her off guard. "Bye, Hinata," He shoved his hands into his school pants and walked away.

Hinata stared at the back of his head as he walked down the empty hallways. The entire conversation felt strange and distant. His tone sounded… defeated. She could only ponder on the conversation shared and deep down she felt something amiss. The bell rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. Perhaps, she was overthinking things. She looked at the back of his silhouette before going in the opposite direction.

Uchiha Sasuke was quite an observer. All he had to do was spend a few seconds with a person to know their likes, dislikes, and behaviors without asking a question. That's how he knew his mother and father's behavior was strange after his brother's death. He knew about the kids in his class. He knew what got under their skins and he especially knew Naruto had a built-up anger. Since his mother had shared a few things, he realized where the anger came from. But as of late, it seemed anger didn't fuel the boy as it did before. Instead, he was distant. Almost as if he was pulling away. That's how his brother got before the terrible incident happened. The one that turned their entire lives upside down.

His uncaring eyes stared at the blonde boy moved the boxes to their proper places. He didn't make a ruckus about doing the work or whine. Naruto wasn't the Naruto he'd met before.

"If you're going to stare at me, take a picture. It'll last longer," Naruto said, dusting his hands off.

"You weren't in school for some time." Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto grabbed the trash bag from the trash can and began to tie it.

"School is important."

There was silence between the two. Sasuke knew he should have stopped talking since that was what Naruto's impression was giving off, but he couldn't. "It's almost over, so why not try to hold out for a little longer?"

"Kaa-san is dying and yet everyone only cares about me going to school."

Sasuke stared at the back of his head; unsure of what to say.

"I know she spoke to you and begged you to encourage me to go to school but don't speak to me about school. Don't speak to me about life getting better. Don't speak to me about my so-called friends or the opportunities I'm going to miss. You're wasting your time."

"At least there, it'll get your mind off things," Sasuke retorted. "At least there, you won't spend your time thinking about the inevitable."

Naruto dropped the trash bag to the ground and turned to Sasuke. "What makes you so sure, huh?"

"I wouldn't say anything I haven't experienced." He mumbled.

"I'm going to smoke," Naruto said, quickly leaving the backroom.

He had walked a few blocks down to quickly smoke. If Ayame had seen him, she would have rung him like a rag doll. He could already hear her voice ringing in his ears. "Naruto! Smoking is bad for your health!" He didn't even know where he picked up this nasty habit, but he found it did something to his mind. For the time being, he could feel free and relaxed.

"Smoking is bad for you."

He drew the cigarette from his lips and looked over his shoulder. "Your house isn't in this direction."

"I was just walking around," Hinata said, placing her hand on her hip.

Naruto dropped the cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. "Walking around in the middle of the night… on a day you have cram school?" He looked at his imaginary watch. "Which is still in session?"

Hinata approached him in angry steps. Once she wa standing by his side, she punched him in the side.

"Ow!" Naruto stared shockingly at her.

"I'm not the one to go looking for the source of my problems, but you had it coming for all those times you messed with me."

Naruto was still caught by surprise. "You're one crazy girl, after all. Do you know I can cease your entire existence?"

"And do you know I can take away your unborn child's existence?"

Hinata's face turned completely red when Naruto burst into laughter. She was surprised to hear him laugh in such a way, and he didn't stop for almost five minutes.

When he had calmed down, he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Ne," He stooped down to her level. "I get off soon. Wait for me."

"And why would I do that?" She frowned.

Naruto shrugged. "I guess I'll see when I get off."

Curious. That's exactly what she was when Naruto stopped during his usual antics. Wasn't that what she wanted? So, why was she so curious to come to his workplace? To see him? To see what he was up to? Or was it to see if he still existed?

She looked at the tree dancing in the distance. To her surprise, that new kid Sakura had taken a fancy to, left five minutes ago. She didn't know he worked there, and he was just as surprised to see her sitting on the bench.

He just nodded his head and quickly left.

"How do they manage?" She muttered to herself.

Time was slowly going by, and she found herself restless. Just as she got up to leave, Naruto emerged from the back of the restaurant with two containers in his hands. "Wow~ I can't believe you're still here." He said, taking a seat next to her. "Since you decided to wait for me, you could have sat inside until closing time."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" She stared angrily at Naruto.

"For someone who is in the smartest class, you sure lack common sense." He handed her the container with a chopstick before she could give a comeback. "Here."

Hinata held the container, embracing the warmth coming from it. "Thanks," She mumbled.

They both ate the ramen in silence, thinking of what to say.

"You ever think about rekindling your friendship with Kiba? He seems sad every time we bring up your name."

Naruto leaned back on the chair; a cunning smile formed on his face. "Talking about me now? Why don't you tell me just how much you miss me?"

"That's not what I meant!" She squeaked out, her face turned flush.

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged. "Kiba has his whole life ahead of him."

"What about you?" She looked at him briefly before indulging in the ramen.

"Don't know," He shrugged again. "I'm just here."

Hinata wanted to know more about the blondie sitting next to him, but her pride got the best of her. Asking him questions about himself would only make him think she was interested in his life, and she didn't want that. Not. At. All. She just wanted him to disappear from her life, completely!

"Iruka-sensei really cares about you. I've never heard any teacher defend you like he does."

"That woman also cares about you. The one with the red eyes."

"Kurenai-sensei. I guess she does." Hinata said. "This time, you went missing for eight days. Do you usually do that?"

Naruto chuckled. "Are you counting my absences?"

"No!" She shouted. "I- you-"She chewed down on her bottom lip, afraid to utter another word.

To save her from the embarrassment, Naruto spoke up. "When I don't feel like going to school, I pick up more hours here. Other times, I just want to be myself."

"You're going to give Iruka-sensei gray hairs if you keep stressing him out."

"I'm already far behind. What point does it make going to school now?" Naruto said aloud.

Hinata finished the remaining ramen. "There's a possibility you'll catch up. It's worth trying. Don't you think? Your mom will probably be disappointed if you don't finish."

"You think so?" He whispered.

She didn't know whether he was speaking to himself or her. "Well, I'm pretty sure she will. When you speak about her, she sounds like a caring woman. I couldn't picture her encouraging you to miss out on school."

Naruto's mind lingered on Hinata's words.

The silence engulfed them.

A slight wind picked up brushing against the trees and making goosebumps formed on Hinata's skin. The cold air was picking up. Her eyes turned to him when he threw his black jacket over her.

"It's getting chillier. Even if you're wearing your winter uniform, you should bring a sweater."

Hinata felt the material and then looked at her lap. "Thank you," she said, slipping into the jacket that was twice her size.

"If I come to school, you're going to help me," Naruto said, his eyes never leaving the sight of the full moon.

"Wait, what?" She snapped her head in his direction.

"I mean," He crossed his arms. "you're the one pushing me to go back. You have to meet me halfway."

"No way!"

"You say that now, but you'll be the main one helping me."

Hinata jumped up from the bench. "That's why you have Iruka-sensei."

"And you," Naruto added. "Come on. It's getting late." He shoved his hands into his pants pocket and staggered off.

"Wait, are you serious?" Hinata asked, chasing behind him.

"Yup." He grinned at her. "I'm pretty sure you'll be a great teacher, sensei," he said, teasingly.

"It's okay if you decide to drop out," Hinata said confidently.

"Nope!" Naruto shouted. "Hinata is going to be my sensei!" He screamed.

Hinata quickly ran up behind him, pounding him on the back. "Why would you say such a thing?"

Naruto just laughed at her cute reaction. "Let's see if I can get an A with your help."

"You're going to need a miracle," she muttered.

"Maybe so."

Never in a million years did Hinata ever expect to encourage one of the top delinquents in their high school to continue his education. But alas, here he was sitting in the library, scribbling on a worksheet paper she had given him. He had been quiet from the moment she'd given him the worksheet to practice on. The only noise that came from him was the pencil marking the white paper. She was so focused on him that she hadn't even realized he had stopped to look at her.

His hair was unruly like so many times, but she wondered looked good in another style. Probably not. The bed hair look suited him. Then her right eye twitched. His school uniform was completely wrinkled! How didn't she notice that before?

There were so many expressions that entered her eyes, that he couldn't help but smile. She was like a curious cat. Then he looked at her lips and he instantly felt his cheeks light up when he remembered that incident.

"I need help with this," He mumbled, sliding the paper to her.

Hearing his voice broke her distraction from him. "How did I get suckered into teaching you?" She reluctantly took the worksheet.

When he didn't reply she sighed. "Look. I'm only going to show you once." She said, but she showed him five times until he had finally gotten the equation.

"Ugh. This is why I hate school." He rested his head on the table and sulked. "Takes forever to learn these things."

"You'll learn it if you keep applying yourself," Hinata mumbled as she reviewed his handwriting.

"And you sound just like Iruka-sensei," He blew out some air. "Are you going to college to be a teacher or something?"

"No. I'm going to school to become a chef so I can open up my restaurant."

Naruto took the worksheet from her hand which made her shoot him a glare. "Eh? Really?"

"Why is that surprising?"

He shrugged. "Rich family? Smart girl? Well, somewhat smart girl," He chuckled, but Hinata didn't find it amusing. Sighing, he began to fold the worksheet into a paper plane. "Doesn't seem like something your family would support."

The room became deadly quiet which made Naruto realize he was right with his assumption.

"Bingo."

She grabbed the barely made paper plane from Naruto and began to smooth out the paper until it was somewhat manageable to read. "You need to complete this work. Now." Her voice was stern, and her eyes were just as serious.

Naruto grumbled a few curse words as he reviewed the wrinkled paper. Hinata watched him for some time before she went back to complete her work. She wouldn't dampen her mood for a scene that didn't come yet.

A week went by with Hinata being Naruto's unofficial teacher. Iruka didn't know what happened, but God had answered his prayers. He was so ecstatic! Every chance he got, he turned to his old pal, Kakashi-sensei, to praise Naruto for coming to school for a week without missing any days. He even attempted to submit some homework, so that was a good step.

Kurenai wasn't as annoyed, but she still felt weary about that boy and Hinata. She couldn't or wouldn't forget how much trouble he caused Hinata and not to mention the things Ino and Sakura told her didn't sit well with her. A person like Naruto didn't need to be around a person like Hinata. Perhaps she was biased, but Naruto never showed his teachers or peers mercy so why should she?

How he managed to remain at this school was beyond her! It had to be Iruka working behind the scenes to ensure the boy never got expelled.

"Why do you care so much about that boy, Iruka?" Kurenai asked one day when it was only her and the man in the teachers' lounge.

"Why do you care so much about Ms. Hyuga, Kurenai-sensei?"

That struck a nerve with the woman, but she answered. "Because I care about her. She's going to do great things."

Iruka nodded. "And I believe Naruto is going to do great things. I care about him just as I care about all my students."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow. "It seems to me that you favor that boy more. I would have never guessed."

"And I can say the same thing about Ms. Hyuga," Iruka countered.

Kurenai realized she wasn't getting much out of Iruka, so she remained quiet for the rest of the time in the room.

A little after two, she stood up to leave and that is when Iruka spoke up. "Once you learn a little more about your students, you look at them in a different light. I hope you consider that, Kurenai-sensei."

The woman grabbed her belongings from the table and quickly left the room. Without a word, she closed the sliding door.

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