"You're not getting tired of eating Ichiraku every year for my birthday, are you Hinata?"
Naruto asked this as he walked backwards, arms folded behind his head. Hinata followed him quietly, tummy full and heart equally warmed.
It was incredible to think that another year had already gone by. Little by little, they were reaching the end of the year, and as always Hinata didn't know what to feel about it, because time passing meant graduation was every day closer and closer.
She shook her head. "Of course not, Naruto-kun. Ichiraku Ramen is the best ramen there is, and Teuchi-san is always incredibly nice."
"Right! It's why I love going there. It's not only the food, that's always amazing, but the company too! Teuchi-san has always been nice to me, did I tell you of the time when…?"
He continued talking, not paying attention to where he was going. Hinata kept an eye open in case he stumbled on something, but had enough confidence in him not to. Naruto might be clumsy sometimes, but he was still a ninja in training.
"I wish Sakura-chan had come. You know, I was pretty sure when I asked her that she would, so it was a shock when she said she had something to do! Sometimes, I really feel…"
Hinata's smile dwindled a little at the mention of her friend. She felt bad for Naruto because it was obvious he really wanted her to come, but part of her also felt relieved because it meant this remained something only between them. She knew the real reason Sakura had declined the invitation was because her parents, like the rest of the village, didn't like Naruto, and Hinata struggled with imagining what she would have done had her father also refused to allow her to become Naruto's friend.
'You'd have to be stupid not to notice you fear her starting to like Naruto back and the two leaving you behind.'
Her lips turned further down, the smile disappearing. She shouldn't feel relieved because of something that was essentially bad, she knew, but at the same time…
"Wow!" instead of stumbling on a pebble, Naruto's back suddenly collided with that of a person that was just then turning the corner. He almost fell forward, only able to remain standing after extending his arms and flapping them around to regain his balance. "Oi! You need to see where you're going!" he complained even though he was the one absolutely not looking. He turned around, pouting at the stranger, only to receive a glare in response.
"Huh? And who do you…?" the older man looked a bit wasted. It wasn't even close to getting dark, but Hinata could smell the alcohol on his breath, even from where she was standing a little farther away. He had an incipient beard, and his eyes were red-rimmed and crusted. Having a bad feeling, Hinata quickly approached.
"Sir, my friend was being careless. Please forgive him" she talked quickly, pulling Naruto's arm. The boy muttered something about it not being his fault, but Hinata shushed him with a quiet look.
The stranger blinked, glancing from her to Naruto, until a look of recognition came over him. In a second, his annoyed but barely dazed expression changed, becoming dark. His fists clenched, and his teeth showed as he curled his lip up in a snarl.
"Uzumaki Naruto? How dare you show your face around the village on this day…" he muttered angrily, taking a step forward. Naruto frowned, backing away along with Hinata, who was still holding his arm. "Do you have any idea? You probably don't, and yet you still prounce around this village as if nothing…!"
He raised his hand, and Naruto quickly dodged, pulling Hinata with him so she wouldn't be hit. It was easy to do so, alcohol making the man's movements sluggish, although it still held enough malice to make Hinata's skin crawl.
"I really have no idea what you're talking about old man, but it's not nice to just…" Naruto started talking, only to be interrupted by the man's angry yell.
"Of course you don't! Even though this day, eleven years ago, I lost my sons to that demon, but how could you know? A monstruosity like you!" he spat, intent on going after him again. This time, it was Hinata who reacted, taking Naruto's hand and pulling him away, down the street they had just come from. Naruto resisted at first, but after a second, he allowed himself to be guided, only hearing the man's furious yells, full of desperation.
When they were far enough, Hinata stopped, making Naruto hide with her behind a dumpster in an alley. She breathed heavily, activating her eyes for a second to make sure the man hadn't followed them. She released a sigh of relief when she couldn't find him with her vision.
When she turned, Naruto was looking at her.
"What was that with your eyes right now? It looked pretty weird" he said, pointing at her face.
Hinata blushed, realizing Naruto had never had reason to see her Byakugan before. "Ah, that's… that's just the doujutsu of my family…"
"Doujutsu?" he asked, head tilted. Hinata shook her head.
"That's not important right now! Naruto-kun, that man…" she started, allowing a bit of how perturbed she felt drip into her voice. Naruto quickly shut his mouth, glancing away after a second of frowning.
"I don't know him if that's what you're asking" he said, adopting a neutral expression. Hinata's shoulders fell forward.
"It's not what I meant and you know it" she complained. Naruto winced, but then just shrugged.
"I don't know. People are weird towards me all year long, but during my birthday they kinda go off harder than usual. I stopped listening to what they say because even when I ask they never tell me why they hate me so much, so I just try to… kinda avoid them if I can" he explained, raising his free hand and scratching at his head.
It was then Hinata realized she was still holding his hand. She quickly pulled away, embarrassed, receiving only a curious glance from Naruto because of her actions.
"So… they just come to you and start… abusing you verbally?" she asked in disbelief. Naruto shrugged again, but that was answer enough. "Naruto-kun…"
"Eh, insulting me is the most they do. Sometimes they do try to hit me like that man there, but until now no one has done it. Even if they're not drunk they always stop at the last second" he explained, raising his arms and folding them behind his head. "Sorry you had to see that, by the way. Not pretty nice, I'm afraid."
"It's not" she agreed, tone somber. "Still, Naruto-kun…"
"Well… I suppose I can tell Iruka-sensei" the boy hummed, eyes turning up towards the sky. "He likes it even less than me, but it's not like he can do a lot. Ahh, it's already getting late" he gave her his back, starting to make his way out of the alley. "Come on, I was walking you home, remember? Iruka-sensei's gonna have my ass if I don't follow through with my promise."
Hinata watched him go, unsatisfied. Truthfully speaking, it wasn't like she didn't know that the villagers hated Naruto. Long before ever becoming close with him, she had been witness in more than one occasion how they talked behind his back and jeered at him. Her own caretaker, Ko, while never participating in such things, had also warned her not to get close to him. Naruto himself had told her once how the villagers became more violent on this day in particular.
She had an idea as to why, but she never found the courage to approach Naruto, or anyone really, about it.
More than that and that man's behavior today though, what surprised and frustrated Hinata was Naruto's attitude about it all. His dismissive, and even closed off reaction, wasn't one she was used to from him. It looked more like something Sasuke would do. Hinata wondered what it meant, and why Naruto would show such behavior that seemed completely uncharacteristic from him… as far as what she knew about him went, of course.
"Hinata?"
She looked up, startled at the sudden call of her name. Naruto was at the mouth of the alley, arms hanging by his sides, staring at her with a curious tilt of the head.
"Don't think about it" he said, as if reading her thoughts, or maybe they were just transparent on her face. "I'm used to it. Really. So it's no big deal as long as no one actually manages to harm me."
He finished with a smile, one that would usually warm her heart. It wasn't the case now.
However, and as if activating from her emotional memory when it came to Sasuke, Hinata chose not to pursue the matter any further. Although still feeling out of sorts, she just nodded her head, following Naruto out of the alley and once again towards her home.
Just to make sure, she activated her byakugan every few minutes, unwilling to allow Naruto another encounter like that, at least while she was present and could prevent it.