Naruto woke up, stretching and yawning as he did so. His blonde hair parting each way, and his blurry eyes focusing as the light filters into the room. He yawns once more, and looks about his room. It was rundown with use, old. It was still slightly dark both due to the early hour and the cloth blinds on the windows. He rolls out of his futon, hitting the cold tatami flooring. With a slight grunt the boy stands to his feet then walking to the window and opening it, taking in the brisk morning air. He smiles, another day in his village, he looks at the adjacent building noticing a frowning citizen who slammed his windows shut at the mere sight of him. Naruto's smile falters, another day in his village.
He goes to the kitchen and creates a small fire, he cooks fried eggs, some old meat, and prepared noodles with miso to make a rudimentary form of ramen. Not as good as the Old Man at the stall, but for this morning it would do. After eating he leaves his dishes in a wooden bowl, he gathers up his towel and soap to begin his day. The young boy makes for the local bath house walking the streets of the village, making his way through the early risers buying from the opening marketplace. Some pay him no mind, others glower at him as Naruto passes. Trying to ignore them as he passes by a forced slight smile fixed upon his face. The blonde passes through the large red torii which marks the old bath house, made long ago. Passing through he stopped by the small shrine to the God of the Spring he bowed his head to the small altar made of worn stone. He had heard from old man hokage that this shrine was ancient; made of stone rather than the wood of recent times. Naruto did not know if there were Gods, and if there were why he ended up with his lot, but he figured it didn't hurt. After he paid his short respects, he entered the bath house and paid the attendant. As always the old bath house owner glowered as he saw him. "Ugh, it's you..." Naruto, used to this typical reaction, handed him a small oblong silver coin. The old man loved silver more than he hated him after all. The bath house was one the few establishments the old Hokage ensured the boy was not barred from. The Law would not allow him to force establishments to serve citizens, unless such things were a matter of great necessity. Personal hygiene being one of them, baths in households were only for the wealthy, as only a few dwellings had plumbing. Something Naruto knew he was far from, but he knew one day he would ensure that would change.
The owner accepted the coin, but not before saying with disgust "Don't cause any trouble, ya damned Uzumaki." Naruto ignored him, he had better things to do today, and daylight was limited. He changed his clothes and entered the bath, rude attendants notwithstanding he quite liked the place. This bath was by far the largest in the city, and also said to be the oldest. Its stone was a beautiful worn marble, accented with circular red stones. As he entered naked as the day he was born, others stayed clear of him, leaving him to bathe in the hot water alone. He settled into the water and relaxed. As usual the water was wonderful; some days he simply did not have the money to come and could not bathe unless in a lake or river. If he smelled okay, he guessed it was fine. However, today he had splurged. Naruto was to meet with the Hokage today in the mid morning. At first their meetings were infrequent, but now as he turned 7 they began to meet more frequently. Even though he was young, he could tell there was years of experience in the wrinkled face of the Hokage, their talks were always interesting. He relaxed in the steaming water for a little longer before reluctantly rising from the comfortable water and the beautifully crafted stone. The Hokage himself had mentioned the bathhouse was of great age, but both he and the owner ignored him when he asked who had made the place. One was rudely dismissive, the other was evasive. Naruto was little, but not stupid he thought. Either way for now it didn't matter, he went to change, and left the baths with the crest of a red whirlpool emblazoned on his back.
Naruto walked to the center of the village , to a large red building, traditional in Konoha style with a large character for fire written upon it. Last time he talked to the old man, the young boy "The Tower of the Hokage" was built by the Shodaime after the dark ages of the warring clans. It was wrought by the Wood Jutsu of the master. Before he entered the building he looked at the wooden plaque written by the First Hokage that read "Know thyself". After passing the guards he ascended the staircase to the highest level, to be met by the secretary of the Hokage. "Oh, if it isn't little Naruto." she greeted, "You've come just in time, the Hokage will see you now". The boy replied slightly, bowing his head "Thank you, it's nice to see you." Naruto was rarely greeted warmly by people, and she had always been kind to him , so he always returned her respect. The first nice word said to him that day he thought. She led him to the Door of the Hokage, and knocked three times.
"Come in." The Hokage said, frowning down at papers regarding the death of a Leaf shinobi in a far away land. The Shinobi had been married recently, he would have to write to his widow. Unsavory work. Naruto walked into the room, then bowed to the man. He rose and said "It's been a while Old man." He saw the Hokage put a paper to the side for now, and the Hokage said "Good you're here, sit down. I've been meaning to finish the story I was telling you." Naruto smiled, their talks were often being told a story or being given a book to read. He had grown up alone, there was no one to teach him characters, and the Hokage had taken it upon himself to teach him. His stories were sometimes about himself and the wars, the other Hokages, and stories about the past. The Hokage's assistant Mayumi had told him while walking him to the door the Old man in the past was called the "professor", and the boy easily believed her.
"So tell me little one how did it begin?" the Hokage asked, taking a long drag of his pipe. The young boy began to slowly read: "In the beginning the Gods created the heavens and the earth, but its surface was void, and nothing lived upon it. The Gods seeing this created first the animals of the land and then the animals of the sea, and at first they were content. The animals grew in number, and flourished on earth, but there was no creature which could understand them, and they became lonely,so created..." the boy stopped and stated in a confused voice. "Hey old man, I can't read this part. It's gibberish.". His face scrunched into a small frown, trying to understand the garbled writing. The old man smiled indulgently at the young lad. "That's because it is not for you to read at this time, but one day. I will ensure you understand this writing." The Hokage said the smoke leaving his lungs, and hoping he had enough time left.
Sometimes the old Hokage was quite evasive, but he did not pay it too much mind. He knew the old leader had many secrets to guard, and he just hoped he told him the truth one day. He felt it in his bones that this time especially what the leader held back was important. The words in that part of the book were gibberish to him, and in a language he had never seen. Either way he would let it go, for now. They talked for a while longer and shared a early lunch.
Now the sun was now sitting high in the sky, and Naruto left the third to his work. He never had much time outside his office, so they never could have their talks for too long, he was given a book however. It was written by the second Hokage, and it looked aged. It was challenging to read, but Naruto liked it already. He sat under a tree reading. "Let your plans be as impenetrable as the stormy night, and then strike as thunder." He read aloud, until he heard a scream coming from the forest.
Hinata was not having a good day. Sure most days hadn't been the best since her mother had passed, miserable usually, but today seemed to be the worst than usual. She had become separated from her guard, the girl had wandered away wanting some privacy from the usual cold wary stares at home. That she would not get, a group of boys had found the young Hyuga girl and decided she was a perfect target. The boys had decided to humiliate her. "It's our lucky day, looks like we caught a Hyuga alone." Said the oldest of the three pulling her up by her hair. "Now what should we do with her ?" He mused to another aloud. "We should teach this damned Hyuga some manners. Put her head down to the ground make her kiss the earth under our feet". One of the boys said with a grin. "Perfect. It's good to teach idiots from this clan some manners, I'm sick of watching them walk around like they are better than our clan. Our parents will love it when we tell them."
Hinata for her part was terrified, for a Hyuga to have your head touch the ground by force was a terrible disgrace. Her father had told her, the earth was said to be the source of their power, and the gods of the earth had gifted the Hyuga above all others with their bloodline. To have her face forced in the mud by others would disgrace her and by extension her clan. If her father heard of it he would be furious. She prayed to the gods for a break, for a savior. She herself did not know if the gods her family claimed as their patrons were real or not. After her mother died giving birth to her sister, and her father turned cold before her eyes she did not believe in much anymore. This time though for her own sake she prayed; she had passed a shrine on the way to where she ended up. She prayed to the God of the forest for mercy. The god saw her plight, and heard her prayer.
Naruto had heard the scream and was curious, he looked for the source of the commotion. By chance, he had quickly found it not far from a small stone shrine. The boys were trying to force her head to the ground, hitting her for her resistance.
Naruto felt for her, and he couldn't let this stand. "Let your plans be as impenetrable as a stormy night then, strike like a bolt of lightning." He thought back to the book he was just reading. The young boy thought of a plan, he strode out of the trees into the clearing. "What's this here?" He said walking with all the confidence he could muster. "It's you. What do you want damned Uzumaki?" The oldest of the bullies said to Naruto. "What? I can't join in teaching a Hyuga some manners." the blonde said.
The girl now lost hope, another person who wanted nothing but her misery just like everyone else it seemed. She accepted her lot, maybe her father was right; she was the failure he thought she was. More tears filled her eyes. In that moment fate had different plans, as Naruto walked closer the oldest boy let go of Hinata's hair. His black eyes were filled with glee at the chance of having the lowest scum of the village, the most hated, disgrace a Hyuga. He couldn't wait to tell everyone in his clan, and they would spread it through the village like wildfire. He let the Uzumaki get closer, until he stood over her. She looked up at him hoping for mercy, his expression changed from a mean grin to serious. Naruto whispered "Run." He quickly turned and kicked the leader of the bullies square in the groin. The older boy doubled over in pain groaning on the floor. The other two black eyed boys looked on in momentary shock.
Naruto turned his head to the Hyuga girl and said loudly "Run, get out of here!" The two others snapped from their shock and charged him. Hinata did as she was told and ran to some nearby trees, hiding. She watched as the blonde boy tried to defend himself from the older boys. He was holding his own at first, but while he had gusto the older boys had experience in fighting. Once their leader had recovered and rose with anger in his eyes; she knew she couldn't just sit here to watch her savior be beaten. With everything she had in her body, she yelled out. "Ko! I need your help, please hurry!" She yelled it again and again. The boys, satisfied with beating the Uzumaki, turned their gaze towards her wanting to complete their deed. Luckily for both her and Naruto, a voice nearby yelled "Hinata-sama, where are you!?" The bullies knew someone was coming for the damned Hyuga, so they turned tail and fled. She noticed the red-white fans on their backs.
When Ko came upon the scene Hinata was nearly covered in dirt and Naruto was unconscious, his head being held up by her. He was surprised to see the Uzumaki brat having any involvement with the heiress. Ko was at a loss for a moment, but he did the first thing that came to his mind. He took the heiress' hand intending to leave the boy and put this incident behind them. He began nearly dragging her, ignoring the girl's protests, until she said in the loudest voice Ko had ever heard from her. "Unhand thy person, or suffer the consequences!" Hinata nearly yelled in the finest Hyuga accent she could muster. Ko stopped and looked down at her, surprise turned into terror when he released her, the girl's hand was in a special seal. He got down on a knee, in a sitting position with his hands visible ready to follow orders, as a sign of submission. Hinata saw the humiliation on her guardian's face, controlled utterly by the will of a young girl. She said with tears in her eyes, " I'm sorry Ko-san. I swore soon after my mother's death I would never activate this against any branch member, just as she did. However, I can't leave that boy hurt on the ground like that. Please, I beg this favor of you. Let us take him home, atleast to tend his wounds". Hinata finished and bowed to her guardian. For Ko's part the day couldn't get much worse. First he had to explain why the heiress is returning to the compound dirty which would be annoying if not slightly dangerous itself. Now, he would have the bloody Uzumaki brat in tow too. It would be a headache in the least, and damaging to his station at worst. He looked at the face of the little girl, Ko did know she hated to use the seal. The day her mother died the clan went into mourning, the usual Hyuga white had turned black for a time. On the third day after her mother's death there was a ceremony to bid farewell to the spirit of the departed. The corpse had been placed in the hearth of the Hyuga clan, an honor reserved only for the patriarchs and matriarchs of the family. Every clan member was seated in seiza, in robes black as night. All except Hinata, she was to everyone's surprise late. As the flames ate the flesh of her mother filling the large room with smoke and smell, Hinata entered in her finest Hyuga robes shimmering in white while carrying her baby sister Hanabi. The rest of clan was surprised but none dared stop her, to come clothed in the white robe only heads of the clan were allowed to wear to the sacred fire meant an oath was about to take place. She walked up to the hearth, her mother's body gradually burning in the flames and spoke her oath with all the authority of a matriarch. "I swear upon the eternal fire, upon the body of my mother. I will never use that evil seal, that one day the clan will be a family under one house." The fire blazed higher, maybe it had heard her words, and from that day forward the branch house loved her and the main feared her.
Now she was threatening to use it, Ko knew helping that boy must be important to her. He stood, "We will help the boy, but you will have to explain to your father why." Hinata nodded silently, dreading the conversion to come, but resigned. She would do the right thing, and help this boy. Ko walked over to the boy and picked him up. Not a job he wanted to do today, the Hyuga began walking out of the clearing and pass the small forest shrine. However, Hinata noticed a small leather bag on the floor near one of the lanterns. 'Maybe from the blonde boy?' she thought. She picked it up, and followed behind Ko. They walked to the Hyuga clan's compound with Naruto in tow, ignoring the confused glares of the citizens as they walked.
When they began walking towards the Hyuga area of the village the scene began to change. Buildings built in the colorful reds and greens of the Konoha style began to change to white walls, with roof tiles of black. Houses and businesses turned into gated estates, and the largest of them all was the Hyuga compound. It towered over the other buildings in the area, and lacked the warmth of other areas of the village. Guards watched every gate, every entrance or exit. With smaller watch towers staffed with Hyuga guards. Although this was Hinata's home she did not like it here, the all seeing eyes watched everything. She had heard it whispered that after mother had died Lord Hyuga had turned cold, and after her near kidnapping he had turned mad with distrust. After that the gates had become larger, and watch towers were built. Beautiful in style but imposing in stark white. They approached the main gate. "Halt! Ko-san why do you bring him here, and why is Hinata-sama covered in dirt? I hope you have not failed your task?" A main branch member asked.
"I have not failed, but this unworthy one must see the clan head. The heiress will explain." He said in the accented speech of a branch member.
"Understood, that will do, but neither the damned Uzumaki, nor heiress can see the patriarch in that state. Have them cleaned, I will notify him." The guard said in a haughty voice. Ko nodded and they began to walk in until the guard stopped them. "Wait, what is that in your arms Hinata-sama?" Gesturing at the leather bag she was holding, when he learned it was from Naruto he took it despite her protests. "You know the rules, all outside items will be checked." Hinata frowned but that rule as most Hyuga rules were ironclad, they continued inside. The guard looked in the bag, and took out the book inside when he saw its age and author he sent it along where it ended up on the desk of Hiashi Hyuga.
News traveled quickly in the compound, once the watch towers had spotted the trio, word was spread up the chain of command to the clan leader. He was slightly surprised to hear the guards' observations. Hiashi looked forward to hearing their explanation. He sat at his desk, and eventually a guard on the other side of the shouji asked permission to enter. Before the guard made a swift exit he was given a book. He immediately noticed its age when it was picked up. He looked at the author, it was the second Hokage, and appeared to be the original. A hard read, they wrote and spake differently in those days. It dawned on him that this book was a national treasure, the direct sayings of a Hokage. 'Why would that Uzumaki possess it?' He had heard Hiruzen had favored the boy, but this was different. A book of this caliber were only given to Hokage in training to read, especially the original copy. Books were expensive, and this one much more so. Perhaps it would be good to meet this Uzumaki Naruto after all. He clapped his hands twice, quickly a branch member appeared. "When ready bring my daughter, Ko, and that boy to the visitors hall." The branch Hyuga nodded, and ran to do as she was bid.
Naruto woke up confused, was bathed, and ended up sitting in seiza surrounded by three people he did not know. Where his clothes had gone he had no clue, now he was wearing a off-white robe seated in seiza. He looked to his right and saw the girl who was getting bullied in the forest. While the shy smile she had given him had somewhat helped his worry, he was still confused. Suddenly a voice rang out in the hall " Here enters the patriarch!" As he entered the other two lowered their heads, Naruto copied them. "Raise your heads." Hiashi said as he sat down, his arm resting on a piece of wooden furniture. He began to speak, "So what happened exactly?" he asked straight to the point. When Ko began to speak he held up his hand then looked at his daughter.
She said " I was playing in the forest, I had told Ko I wished to be alone. Some boys had found me. I believe they were Uchiha; they were going to beat me and put my head to the ground to disgrace us. This boy saved me from that, he was hurt doing so, and Ko came before it got any worse." The leader's keen eyes shifted to the guardian knowing the girl wasn't telling the whole truth, but before he could question it his daughter said " It wasn't Ko's fault, I made him leave me alone!" Her father sighed "You will do well not to do that again, your training will intensify now. We are lucky those Uchihas did not succeed, we would have been humiliated. As ever, you have a lot to learn." The Uchiha could not openly brag about assaulting a clan member without the Hokage becoming involved, and Hiashi did not want to press charges which would bring unwanted attention to the situation, so he turned his attention to Naruto.
"What is your name, young man?" He asked full well knowing the answer. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, Lord." The blonde said bowing as he did so. Both elder Hyuga were a tad surprised, they had heard that this boy was a rube. Perhaps they'd heard wrong. "Why did you help my daughter? What do you want?" Hiashi interrogated. Naruto replied sounding a little angry "Nothing. I couldn't sit there and let them do that to her! What else was I supposed to do?" He loudly asked. Hiashi slightly smiled, no one had spoke loudly to him in some time, it was good to see someone with some spirit for once. The clan head nodded " Good young man, you did well. Now, where did you get this book?" He lifted up the old tome, held together by wrapped strings. "It was given to me by the Hokage." he stated simply. Hiashi's suspicions were confirmed, the book was given to him by the third. The old Hokage wouldn't entrust this book to just anyone, maybe it would be worth cultivating a relationship with the Uzumaki while he was still young. "Can you read this young Uzumaki, this isn't easy to comprehend '' Hiashi said.
"Yes sometimes, it's a little hard, but thanks to Old man Hokage I'm learning." The boy said with a smile. "One final note, how did you stop those boys? There were more than one, older too." Hiashi was a bit curious. Naruto smiled mischievously. " I walked out from the forest, pretended I wanted to help them. Then when the chance was right I turned around and kicked him square in the nuts!" The other two Hyuga were horrified, few talked rudely in front of the elder Hyuga and got away with it. It must have shown on their faces, because Hiashi did something he hadn't done in a long while. He laughed. "Good young Naruto, good. I have been told your garments are being cleaned, stay with us for the evening. We will be having supper soon. I will see you and my daughter there, thank you." Hiashi rose, the three lowered their heads until he exited out a stark white screen opened for him. The screen shut.
Both Hinata and Ko let out breaths of relief. "That went better than I thought." Ko thought out loud. "It did Ko-san." Seconded Hinata. Hinata turned to Naruto. "Thank you Uzumaki-san for saving me. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't come." She said as she bowed in seiza to him. Naruto was a tad embarrassed, few people had ever said a good word to him, and now two people were treating him nicely. Maybe it was his lucky day. The girl began to tear up " I'm sorry, I couldn't help you better. I was too weak" she continued voice wavering with tears.
Naruto touched her shoulder "Hey, you did what you could. You saved my butt too, remember? Don't cry…er. Actually I don't know your name yet."
Hinata looked at him with some surprise, not used to physical contact. She stuttered out "M-my name is Hyuga Hinata". Naruto smiled at her, happy at the possibility of his first friend. "By the way, Hinata, no Uzumaki-san. Call me Naruto." Hinata's face flushed, and her guardian watching the scene face palmed. The girl was charmed already. The three left the visitors hall, and left for the garden. Ko trailed behind them to give the kids some space, the guardian was sure no harm would come to them inside the compound.
The two walked through the garden, filled with ancient looking manicured pines among other plants. Naruto looked around with wide amazing eyes, he had never seen a place like this. He had grown up on the rougher side of the village, it didn't take a genius to realize Hinata's family was rich. They sat at the edge of the garden's pond. "Wow Hinata, it must be amazing to live in a place like this!" He said in wonder. Hinata's smile faltered "It is pretty here. That is true, but not the best place to live." Her voice had a sad tone. Naruto had his own problems, and he knew what it was like to be surrounded by people, but completely alone. "Why, if it's okay to ask?" He was interested. Hinata wavered on telling him, but decided something about him made her not worry as much. She started "My family changed when my mother died. The clan is split into two families, the branch and main. Both hate each other. My mother was the only one to try and make our family one again. When she died giving birth to my sister, my father, the man you just met became harsh. Our family's hate grew even worse." Naruto looked a little confused and he asked "Why is your family split? Is there a difference between the two branches?" Hinata answered, " Nothing is different! Except one thing the older children are put into the main and younger into the branch. The main has power of life and death over the branch." Naruto grimaced " That's horrible, when did this start? Was your mother trying to change it?" He was filled with questions. " Yes she wanted to, but passed before she could. I have no idea when it started, father won't tell me." Hinata said sadly.
Naruto thought it was sad to have a family but be at each other's throats. What a waste he felt. "I have no family, so I don't know what it's like to have one in the first place. Do you want to change your clan?" the boy asked. "I do and I will. Naruto-san please follow me." She stood and Naruto followed. They went to the edge of the garden to a building which faced east towards the rising sun. The building was old and made of beautifully aged stone, in some ways it looked like a larger version of the shrine at the bath house. Gears turn in Naruto's head, something for him to mull over later. Before they could enter, Ko said in a hushed tone to Hinata "Are you sure about bringing him in here? Outsiders are rarely allowed." Hinata turned to her guardian and said in the Hyuga accent " I have ventured to this place to make a vow." Ko relented wondering what she was planning. They entered, the room hot from the fire burning away in the large hearth. A tired looking branch member noticed the three entered and left so they could worship in peace. Hinata led Naruto close the flames. Hinata began to speak, "My father said these flames were kindled when the first Hyuga became a clan in the village. As long as the flames live the Hyuga will be strong, he said." Hinata ripped off one of the bandages from earlier, grimacing as she did so and continued "You saved me today Naruto. My situation would've been even worse for me at home if those boys had their way. You could've walked away, but you didn't. For that I make this vow: That I-I will always be a friend of Uzumaki Naruto, that his troubles and joys will be mine." Resolve shone in her clear eyes.
Naruto was stunned, no one except very few had ever given a damn about him. Every street, store, place of worship, every corner in the village had a cold look or outright declaration of hate waiting for him. Tears began to pool in his eyes at her words, he too stepped closer to the flames. He followed her example, and ripped a bandage from a wound on his hand. Blood dripped from it into the flames. The words came to him easily as if willed by the flames "Gods of the Hyuga, I promise to be a friend of Hyuga Hinata. Her joys and troubles will be mine. This is my promise of a lifetime." The two locked eyes and smiled; the flames rose as if it was pleased.
Soon the evening was upon them, by the time the sun had set rumors had already spread that the heiress had made another vow in the temple with the Uzumaki in tow. For a while after the two had made promises the fire was stronger than usual, and the faint scent of smoke could be smelt throughout the main compound. Many wondered what the vow she had made this time, any vow made in that place was to be taken seriously after all. Few had been made in years, except for two and now three. The Hyuga leader sat wondering such while sitting cross legged at the table with his children beside the Uzumaki. He was surprised the boy showed table manners, unpolished but clearly trying. Hinata was busy trying to feed her baby sister, Hanabi. Hanabi had not taken very well to the boy's presence. Since his younger daughter was a reminder of his late wife, he was loath to admit he had spoiled her as much as his station would allow and Hinata was no better. His wife's last words to her oldest daughter was to be a good girl and take care of her baby sister. Hinata took her words seriously and watched over her from her birth until now.
Hanabi squirmed around as her sister tried to feed her. Interested yet wary of this strange person sitting next to Hinata. She had never seen a person with yellow hair and blue eyes before. Hinata sighed realizing that today would not be one when her little sister would cooperate, she would be turning three soon, perhaps it would be time for her to begin eating on her own more often. She shifted in Hinata's lap until she was facing the strange boy, her eyes were a mix of curiosity and wariness. Naruto stopped eating what was one of the better meals in his short life and noticed the little one looking at him. Naruto smiled at her, "Hello, I'm Naruto. What's your name?" He said to Hanabi. The little girl shyly replied "Hanabi, Hyuga Hanabi". "How old are you?" He asked curiously. "I'm 3," she said, holding up three fingers. "Nice to meet you Hanabi." He said holding a hand out, the little girl looked confused and she copied him. He pushed their hands together in a high five, very uncommon in the Hyuga household. The little girl crawled from her sister's lap to Naruto's and true to her name began to barrage him with questions. "Where are you from?", "How did your hair get yellow?", "What family are you from?" And many more questions, some of which he could answer others he himself didn't know. After a barrage of questions she settled down to play janken (rock, paper, scissors) a game she had never played before. She cheered everytime she won, Naruto playing it up as dejected when he lost. Hinata smiled fondly at the two, but was interrupted by her father while the other two were distracted.
"Daughter, I've heard you went to the shrine today. Any reason you did so?" He probed. Hinata sighed knowing this would come up, but she had hoped later rather than sooner. "I made a vow father…one I wish not to break." Hiashi had a feeling he knew what her promise entailed, but he asked anyway to ensure he knew. She would be bound by her words, according to his own father the flames always remembered. "What promise did you make? The fire will keep you to your words." He warned. She replied with a look the clan head had very rarely seen from his shy eldest daughter " I promised to always be his friend, to share his joys and worries. He made the same promise to me as well." Hiashi frowned; he did not know if she understood what her vow may bring, he knew what the Uzumaki held inside of him. He would be hunted at best his entire life, but he supposed danger was what the life of a Shinobi would entail. With this vow his life would be bound to hers, he could try to separate them, but he doubted it would do any good. A word said before the fire could not be taken lightly, especially not one spoken by a future head of the clan. "Are you certain of your promise?" He asked for the final time. She smiled, "Yes, I'm certain." Her father sighed "Then for now, the boy will be an acquaintance of the clan. Don't make me regret this daughter." Hinata beamed at him. "You won't father, I have a good feeling about this." He nodded the matter finished, he clapped his hands twice, a door was opened, his dishes collected. Only Hinata said thank you to the branch member who collected the plates, something not lost upon the servant who bowed to her thankfully. The clan head rose, said good night to his daughters and left, his daughter's words will have political implications. He had a letter to write to the Hokage.
Naruto held a sleeping Hanabi worn out from playing and a belly full of food he had managed to feed her. "Hinata, thank ya for today. One of the best meals I ever ate." He said, smiling widely. " Food is the least I can do. Thanks again for saving me today." For Hinata it wasn't the first time she was bullied, Naruto could tell; more often than not if attacks weren't physical against him, verbal ones were constant. "Don't thank me, I couldn't let them do that to a friend." He said seriously. She was the first friend he had ever made, and the first person their age to ever give him a chance. Let alone promise loyalty. He would make sure she wouldn't be bothered again. "I hope to do the same for you one day." Hinata whispered. Hinata gathered up her snoozing sister and together they tucked her into bed. The little girl had taken to him after all, she was happy she had. As they left the room Hinata said to the empty hall
"Onegaishimasu." A branch member quickly appeared to take Naruto to the guest quarters, the two said their good nights, but not before Naruto gave her a quick hug. Hinata, stunned and blushing stumbled to her room. The branch member giggled happy for the heiress, she would keep that interaction to herself.
After thanking his escort, Naruto settled into the bed, the most comfortable one of his life. He thought of his new friendship, his eventful day, and this beautiful home. His humble home was leagues apart in a section of town few Hyuga would care to go to. One day he wanted a home maybe not as grand, but nice like this one filled with friendship and family. As he fell asleep he felt the growth of ambition in his heart.
End of chapter 1.
