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Naruto met up with his comrades and sensei the next day the Seventh Training Ground after the bell test. Earlier that morning, he wanted to know more about Kakashi-sensei and learned the reason for his tardiness: the cycloptic jōnin always awoke early in the morning and went to the Memorial Stone, speaking with his late sensei and comrades whose names were written into the stone. Naruto did not know that Kakashi-sensei knew he was there but did nothing to stop nor alert the blonde he knew as he gauged Naruto-kun’s reaction and it seems the blonde was clueless about why the A-rank ninja did this and the genin simply walked away to meet with his comrades. Kakashi sighed and remembered the Third Hokage’s order and personal request to watch over the Uzumaki and Uchiha to ensure they are on the right path, and Ebisu-san will do the same with Shindō Shunsoku. When he eventually arrived, the Sasuke Uchiha was focused on some basic warm-up stretches and Sakura Haruno simply watched in admiration at her crush while Naruto looked at Sasuke in jealousy and simply stood away from his teammates, trying to focus on training as he did some more intense exercises which garnered ire from the Uchiha from seeing him off the corner of his eye. It looks like Kakashi has his work cut out for him as he announced his arrival with the Body Flicker Technique. “Yo!” he greeted with his trademarked eye-smile.
“YOU’RE LATE!!!” Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison.
“Well, you see, a black cat crossed my path, and I needed to avoid it all costs by traveling around it. Black cats bring bad omens, you know, and I don’t want that on my students. Now, today we’re embarking on D-rank missions to get you started in your shinobi career. Follow me to the missions, desk and we’ll be assigned our first mission,” he said without changing his eye-smile. The trio of genin nodded and followed their sensei over to the Academy but were now traveling up some stairs and into a large interior with a black kanji for “shinobi” decorating the ceiling, followed by a long desk filled with three chūnin on both sides of the Third Hokage, his secretary directly behind him. He was checking over mission reports, signing off missions to specific teams, and directing pay and funds for the appropriate parties involved in said missions according to mission rank and clientele.
“Hey, Ojii-san!” Naruto shouted before getting a punch on the head by his pink-haired teammate, followed by everyone else’s gasp at Naruto’s blatant disrespect for their Kage.
“BAKA, never address the Hokage by that!!!” yelled the pinkette as the blonde nursed the large and tender bump on the back of his head.
“It’s quite alright, Sakura-san. Naruto-kun is like a grandson to me and we share a strong bond for a long time,” Hiruzen reassured with his famous old, jolly smile and grandfatherly tone. He reminisced for a moment several great moments between him and Shindō, especially when consoling them the night Toshirō Shunsoku died. He shook his head from the memory before saying, “I have a mission assigned for Team Kakashi right here.” He tossed Kakashi Hatake a green scroll decorated with D’s as he wished them all the best as they all bowed their heads respectfully before departing.
Later, as they walked through the village, Naruto walked relaxed, his hands resting behind his head before asking, “Kakashi-sensei, what is our mission? Do we get to fight enemies, save princesses, or even help people in need?”
At that last part, Kakashi eye-smiled and said, “Well, Naruto-kun, you could say that the last thing you said about ‘helping people in need’ IS what all of you will be doing. As your sensei, it’s my duty to inform you the contents of his scroll, so I’ll tell you when we stop at that park bench.” He pointed to the nearest bench to which Naruto sat next on the left, Sakura in the middle, and Sasuke to her right but a bit too close for his comfort. Kakashi held the D-ranked mission scroll open with its contents facing himself as he announced, “Today, our first mission will be weeding a garden.” The eyes of all three genin hopefuls widened, their jaws slacked as they could have sworn their ears were deceiving them. Naruto was the one to speak up. “Uh, Kakashi-sensei, did you just say our first mission was to weed a garden?”
Their sensei answered with an eye-smile. “Yes, Naruto-kun, and before you say anything, the weeds in my garden are relentless.” Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were shocked as their sensei literally requested a mission close to their sensei’s home. For Sasuke, he did not like this as he felt that his Uchiha pride and talented skills were being wasted in this endeavor. Naruto was too curious to see what Kakashi-sensei was saying about his garden and he remembered nii-chan and himself gardening with tō-san as a way to grow their own herbs and food when the storeowners refused to sell anything to him, or even chase him out of their premises, unless tō-san or nii-chan were present. He decided to hold his tongue about this mission, if you could even call it that, until he sees what Kakashi-sensei is talking about. Sakura, however, was mixed as she knew she will have to one day be forced to face off against danger, but she was confident that Sasuke-kun will be there to keep her safe and was beginning to think the blonde baka might not be useless after all. “W-Well, let’s get started, shall we?” she responded. Naruto agreed while Sasuke answered with his trademark, “Hn,” before Team Kakashi set out for their first mission.
Team Kakashi arrived at the humble abode of their jōnin sensei’s residence and were surprised of the extent of the mission at hand. The weeds in Kakashi’s yard have clearly taken root and needed to be removed promptly before they spread, but it will take several people to do it since Kakashi was just one man. Sasuke had a perpetual scowl but refused to speak about it as this was a mission their own sensei requested. He was not going to sully the Uchiha clan’s reputation by complaining, but his pride took a beating from this mission as he did not see the point in pulling weeds when they could do something more suited to their skills. Unbeknownst to him, Naruto was thinking of the same thing, but he did not dislike it completely as it was something he did either with nii-chan, tō-san, or both when the latter was around. He failed to see why their teacher decided to formally request this mission. At least he could earn 1,667 ryō which is a good start as he did not care that much about money and just wanted to be a powerful shinobi and one day become Hokage. Sakura, however, was overwhelmed by the size of the field and the number of weeds they will need to pull or remove and knew very little on gardening. Kakashi-sensei gave his team some gardening tools for weeding and instructed, “These weeds are unique in that they will constantly grow as fast as you cut them.”
“Yeah right, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto said. “Plants don’t do anything except grow and we cultivate them.”
His teammates were surprised at his surprising use of the word ‘cultivation’ but dismissed it as a simple random bout of intelligence which any baka can do. Kakashi, however, eyed his blonde student curiously before saying, “Oh, then I guess you should have no problem taking care of this section of the field, right?”
Naruto’s hands were on his hips before he exclaimed confidently, “I’ll take care of these weeds in no time at all!!”
He then decided to use the Shadow Clone Technique before Kakashi stopped him. “Actually, Naruto-kun, this mission is not a battle, but a training exercise to foster teamwork with Sasuke-kun and Sakura-san.” Kakashi looked at all three of them. “I want the three of you to come up with a plan that will eliminate the weeds. Otherwise, this mission is a failure, and none of you will be paid. Not always will you have missions that you enjoy or will be looking forward to, and this is one of them. Now, I’ll let you three handle this and you have until noon to complete this mission.” The eyes of the genin go wide as it was mid-morning and they have three hours to eliminate a large portion of weeds which have rooted themselves into the soil and will be a pain to take out. Clapping his hands, Kakashi yelled with an eye-smile, “BEGIN!!”
An hour passed and Naruto, Sasuke, nor Sakura were any closer to the goal of completing their first mission. Naruto was faring better as he had some experience in pulling weeds from a garden but Sakura, whose foolish diet made her physical development poor, struggled with the endeavor and was behind her comrades. Sasuke was once again trying get rid of the pesky weeds which seemed to never end, making Kakashi-sensei sigh as the mission might end in a failure because of his students’ stubbornness and pride. Naruto asked Sakura if she needed help earlier and she refused. Sasuke was no better, but eventually asked the blonde in reluctance, “Dobe, lend me a shadow clone as I have a plan.” Naruto did not personally want to follow Sasuke’s lead, but the weeds were still present and if the teme had an idea to finish it all he will do it. He decides to ask, “Fine, what’s the plan?”
“Use your clones to create a perimeter and start cutting the weeds, then I’ll burn the stalks to prevent them from growing.” Naruto like the sound of the plan but looked at Sakura. “What about Sakura-chan?” he asked, pointing an index at her. Sasuke only scoffed before an idea struck and yelled to the pinkette, “Sakura-san!!” His voice made Sakura stop what she was doing before running over to her teammates. “Sasuke-kun, what is it?”
“I need you to coordinate with the dobe with cutting the weeds while I burn the stalk with my Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.” Reluctantly, Sakura agreed but would look at the baka with a scowl, scaring Naruto a little but he created several shadow clones before the plan commenced. Kakashi was impressed with Sasuke-kun taking up a leadership role and Naruto-kun willing to set aside any difference between himself and the Uchiha to work together. Sakura seemed to begin turning a new leaf as she reluctantly helped Naruto out, but made it clear she was doing this for Sasuke and wanted to win his heart by being useful. Because it was his plan, she figured that if she did her best then he will have to recognize her love and finally become the boy of her dreams. This would not happen after the plan was a success and the Uchiha finished using his great fireball technique. Instead of thanking her or Naruto, he simply did his usual, “Hn.” Kakashi was still satisfied that their mission was a success and formed his eye-smile. “Congratulations, my cute little genin,” he exclaimed with a slight mockery on the ‘cute’ part which annoyed his students. “You’ve successfully completed the mission and will be rewarded accordingly.”
“OH RIGHT!!!” Naruto exclaimed as Sasuke only smirked a little while Sakura let out, “Shānnarō!!!”
Kakashi, however, rained on their parade and said, “Don’t get your hopes up too much. We still have training and other D-rank missions to do. But for now, let’s head over to the Mission Assignment Desk and report our success.” The genin sighed as they all walked back to see the Third Hokage who was delighted at their first successful mission and would assign them more for the day, with intermittent breaks for training for each of them.
It had been three days of team building exercises and D-rank missions, which be honest are a bunch of chores that normal Academy students could do; however, Team 7’s teamwork improved over the time period but there was a lack of camaraderie between the genin and their sensei as Sasuke still wanted to do things on his own and Sakura was too obsessed with him to get along with―and/or even help―Naruto.
Kakashi sighed in frustration as he left his house early in the morning as usual. For Sasuke Uchiha, he was a prodigy as he possesses more ninjutsu and taijutsu techniques and can even recognize and dispel up to C-rank genjutsu. Naruto Uzumaki, however, needed a lot of work because he only had the bare minimum of the shinobi basics including the Transformation Technique while also using the Shadow Clone Technique because of his inhuman reserves of chakra. He still needed to have the basics and knowledge drilled into him until they are instinctual, but his mind is what surprised him and he figured out that his adoptive older brother, Shindō Shunsoku, had something to do with it. He also remembered the Third Hokage ordering he and Ebisu-san to watch over Naruto-kun and Shindō-kun. He was honestly looking forward to training the legacy of his late sensei and he is convinced that he might become Hokage someday. As for Sakura Haruno, there was a lack of progress with her basic ninja training since her unwillingness to change her eating habits, or lack thereof, and her naïve obsession over the Uchiha were negatively impacting, even hindering, her growth and potential as a kunoichi. Ugh, Kakashi had no clue what to do about it, so he decided to ask Kurenai Yūhi for assistance. He knew he would be late as usual, but this time he has an adequate excuse and looked to find Konoha’s Genjutsu Mistress (木ノ葉の幻術師, Konoha no Genjutsushi).
After leaving his home and looking around the village for thirty minutes, he found Kurenai walking with her team. It comprised of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka along with his canine companion Akamaru riding in his jacket, his head visible below Kiba’s chin. Noticing the cycloptic jōnin, Kurenai saw him reading Icha Icha without shame in front of her young, impressionable genin. “Oh, hello, Hatake-san,” Kurenai greeted with a polite tone, hiding her hatred for perverts. She was, however, around her students and needed to be an excellent role model for her genin. Kiba was curious at the eighteen-plus rating warning on the book cover, Hinata blushed as she accidentally stumbled upon erotic material recently in a local bookstore, developing perverted thoughts about her crush. Shino, however, was indifferent and stoic, remembering his father telling him to not engage with erotic material in exchange for teaching him more powerful Aburame techniques. Kakashi looked up with his right visible eye that turned into his trademarked eye-smile. “Oh, good morning, Kurenai-san.” He put his smut book away in his weapons pouch behind him as he continued, “I was wondering if you and your team could help me with a problem.”
Kurenai was surprised that the prestigious Kakashi Hatake needed help with something, even involving her team. It must be serious and there was no sign of anything wrong. She has complete trust in her students, so she answered, “Well, what is it?”
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Kakashi went on to explain that his team lacked camaraderie, and Sakura Haruno was not taking her kunoichi training seriously. He decided that Hinata could spar with Sakura so that the Haruno could take her kunoichi training more seriously and improve her eating habits as her unwillingness to eat calorie-dense foods makes it impossible for her to do intense physical training to bring her up to a minimum of shinobi/kunoichi standards. Kurenai thought about Kakashi’s proposal and asked Hinata if she would like to help Kakashi out. Everyone looked at Hinata who was shy and blushing from all the attention, but then remembered her crush, Naruto Uzumaki, and she quietly swallowed a lump in her throat before her face expressed determination. “I-I’ll do it!” she exclaimed with a newfound confidence.
Kurenai, Kiba, and Shino were proud that Hinata was stepping up to the plate and hoped she could attract Naruto. Kakashi eye-smiled before saying, “Excellent, come with me to the Training Ground Seven.” As Hinata departed with Kakashi, Kiba sighed before asking, “Do you think she could attract that loser?” Kurenai smacked Kiba upside the head with her hand before saying, “Kiba-san, it would be prudent to not insult your fellow comrades including Uzumaki-san.” She let out a calming breathe before looking at the retreating Kakashi and Hinata. “But to answer your question, I believe Hinata-kun will. Now, let’s all go and practice. Shino-san, we need to work on coordinating your hiden techniques with Kiba’s.” Shino nodded with a low, “Hai,” in a tone denoting respect and professionalism. Kurenai hoped she could get Shino to loosen up one of these days, and Kiba nor Hinata were able to do it.
An excited Naruto with his trademarked foxy grin arrived to see his teammates Sakura and Sasuke. “Hey, Sakura-chan!!” Naruto shouted with a greeting wave before Sakura grew a tick mark on her forehead. “BAKA, STOP CALLING ME THAT!!”
As she was about to punch his head, she is stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. Its skin was as fair and feminine as hers, but the arm was covered in what seemed to be a cream-colored jacket. Sakura stopped to notice Hinata Hyūga, heiress to the prestigious and powerful Hyūga clan. “Stop it, Sakura-san,” Hinata said without stuttering as she saw Naruto who was wide-eyed at the young girl who stalked him before remembering her name. “Oh, hey, Hinata-chan!” he exclaimed with a smile, making her blush and struggling not to faint after hearing him use the “-chan” honorific as it seemed she was at least close to him. Sasuke saw this and was surprised at how fast the Hyūga heiress was when it came to Naruto’s defense. He was curious about her skills but refused to show it as he would never admit his skills could be surpassed by any genin or clan in the village. It was at this moment that Kakashi-sensei arrived in a puff of smoke, startling the Hyūga who let go of Sakura’s wrist. “YOU’RE LATE!!!” Naruto and Sakura screamed, making Hinata wince and Sasuke cringe before Kakashi shrugged off their banter. “Well, I had to find Kurenai-san to let me bring Hinata-kun here to spar against Sakura-san,” he explained nonchalantly. His students were used to his ridiculous excuses for his tardiness, but this time they were surprised when he actually had a valid excuse. Sakura heard his explanation before asking, “W-Wait, what do you mean bringing Hyūga-hime here to spar with me? Plus, where’s her team?”
With a sigh, Kakashi explained, “Well, Sakura-san, I regret to inform you that you aren’t taking training and your lack of proper nutrition and obsession with Sasuke-kun are hindering your growth.” Before Sakura could retort, Kakashi stopped her with his killing intent. “Needless to say, but you’re holding this team back, so I’ve taken some drastic measures into my own hands. I’ve asked Kurenai-san and she’s agreed to let Hinata-hime spar with you so that you may finally start to realize what I’m talking about and how much improvement you’ll need. I’m done dealing with your excuses involving Sasuke-kun like he’ll protect you. No, he won’t always be there to do that, as neither will I and Naruto-kun.”
“HEY!!” Naruto exclaimed indignantly.
Kakashi just sighed in exasperation. “Sakura-san, you’re no doubt smart and know what it means to be a kunoichi, but your intelligence can only get you so far. The moment you put that headband on is when you’ve become an adult in the eyes of Konoha. You’re not a child anymore, but a kunoichi and it’s about time you act like it. This is no laughing matter. Remember what I about individual skills? While teamwork is important, so is a shinobi’s skills and strength so as to ensure survival of not just themselves but the rest of the team as well. Hinata-hime spar with you so that your current skills. I’ll be proctoring to ensure any rules I set are enforced.” He then used kunai to mark the sparring area for both kunoichi as Hinata stood adjacent to Sakura who stood confidently. Hinata saw Naruto-kun and blushed, but she reminded herself that she was here to help Sakura-san. But she hoped to impress Naruto-kun and be able to at least talk to him without fainting. She decided to focus all of her attention on Sakura Haruno who readied herself in the Academy fighting stance which Hinata shook her head disapprovingly as she took the Hyūga clan’s own fighting stance for their legendary Gentle Fist fighting style.
“Are both fighters ready?” Kakashi asked with his right hand raised. Sakura and Hinata nodded before Kakashi gave the signal by bringing his extended arm down in a chopping motion. “HAJIME!”
Sakura charged as fast she could against Hinata who dodged a telegraphed punch, followed by a roundhouse kick which Hinata effortlessly dodged. She saw off the corner of her eye Naruto Uzumaki mesmerized to watch the battle unfold. Sasuke, for the first time ever, seemed interested in the spar as he could not believe what he was seeing. Hinata saw Naruto-kun and decided to showcase what she could do. She got around Sakura’s guard and performed the Palm Bottom against Sakura, pushing her back a meter away before following up with pointing two fingers against her forehead. Sakura saw the serious look in Hinata’s lavender eyes before surrendering, “I-I yield.” She tried not to cry but tears still appeared in the corners of her eyes as Hinata accepted her defeat before Kakashi called Hinata the winner. Hinata changed back to her demurer, shy self as she stuttered, “S-Sakura-san, I-I hope y-you weren’t-t hurt.” Sakura was surprised at the one hundred eighty-degree change in personality to Hinata’s demeanor and personality. Maybe Naruto was right, she is weird. At least she was nice and held out a hand for her to grab. Sakura took it reluctantly before thanking her for the spar, albeit with a bitter undertone. Naruto, however, seemed impressed with what Hinata did and came up to her. “Oh wow, Hinata-chan, that was great! What was that?”
Hinata could not believe her luck as Naruto-kun was talking with her, but he was too close to her face and body. She was blushing redder like a tomato before Naruto saw and asked, “Hey, Hinata-chan, why are you all read? Do you have a fever?” Before he could place a hand on her forehead, Sasuke butted in and said, “Hey, dobe. Step back from her a little. You’re too close.” Hinata had to thank Sasuke-kun as Naruto reluctantly stepped back a little and she felt she could breathe. “S-sorry, Hinata-chan,” Naruto said embarrassingly. Hinata felt ashamed that she could not handle Naruto-kun, her crush, being so close. Is it not what she wanted? She needed some more time with him so she could work up the courage to confess her feelings. Kakashi then interrupted with a clap. “Excellent work, Hinata-hime,” Kakashi said, bowing his head respectfully. Hinata returned the favor before Naruto decided to follow their example, making Hinata happy. Sasuke, however, did not bow as this did not involve him and went to do some warmup exercises. Sakura, meanwhile, thought about everything Kakashi-sensei said and even Sasuke was not impressed. How could she win his heart if she does not step up to the plate when it counts. Maybe…maybe she IS the weakest on the team, despite being smart. She looked over to Hinata and Inner Sakura replied, “Oh man! Sasuke-kun was not impressed. We’ve got to get stronger if we want Sasuke-kun to notice us!” But then Sakura thought, ‘No, I need to get my skills and strength in order. I must be strong for myself as Sasuke-kun doesn’t even look or talk to me. But how do I do it? How do I go making him notice me?’ She sees Hinata-kun and the baka talking and could not help but be jealous. She overheard the Uzumaki saying, “So, Hinata-chan, I’m sorry but…do you think you could help me with my taijutsu? I’m not gonna lie, it sucks. I watched your fight and want to do something like that. Could you show me?”
Kakashi was intrigued with his blonde student taking an interest with the Hyūga heiress and remembered hearing rumors about her crush on Naruto-kun and saw the two genin interact. Though they may be on different teams, it seems that there might be new bond that will not break even if they are apart. He then made an interesting decision. “Say, Hinata-hime, how about you help Naruto-kun out with his taijutsu for an hour before going back to your team?”
Hinata could not believe her luck today. She was unsure if she could help Naruto-kun out but decided to take a leap of faith. After all, what better way to get to know her crush better than working together, right? “Y-yes, Kakashi-sensei,” she replied with a respectful bow. Naruto then saw Sakura before going over to her and saying in the gentlest tone as he could, “Hey, Sakura. You did great. Next time, I’d bet you’d be a whole lot better.” Sakura, however, just got angry and shouted, “GO AWAY, BAKA!! I DON’T WANT YOUR PITY, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!” Naruto, feeling hurt, lost his foxy grin and sported a saddened expression before walking towards Hinata before saying, “Hinata-chan, lead the way please.” His depressed voice did not sound right in her ears, but she obliged as Kakashi shook his head in disapproval as Sakura’s attitude towards the blonde Uzumaki was not getting any better. As Naruto and Hinata disappeared into the nearby brush, Kakashi looked at Sasuke who paid no attention to the drama going on. He sighed, wishing he could be Sasuke right now and not having to deal with this mess.
Naruto and Hinata were in a smaller clearing within the woods, away from most prying eyes and decided to break the ice that was metaphorically forming around them. “N-Naruto-kun?” Said blonde looked at Hinata with a sad but attentive face. Hinata was shocked as she had seen that look before when Naruto was bullied and did not have Shindō-kun around to protect or cheer him up. She asked, “A-are you o-okay?”
“Huh, oh, y-yeah,” said Naruto lied, scratching the back of his head. Hinata, however, was not fooled, but decided to focus on helping Naruto-kun as she will need to return to her team once more in less than an hour. “O-okay, l-let’s get s-started.” She then reviews Naruto’s katas, or lack thereof, as he was more of a brawler type. She also asked him about any other techniques and Naruto remembered and made a hand seal Hinata had never seen before. Shadow Clone Technique! Her eyes went wide as several solid clones of her crush were created. He then explained, “I can do one technique called the Shadow Clone Technique. It splits my chakra evenly between myself and my clones and are solid so they can interact with and affect the physical world unlike the standard Clone Technique.” Naruto saw the look of admiration and curiosity in Hinata’s eyes and asked, “N-Naruto-kun, do you t-think you can sh-show me?” Naruto frowned and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t because it’s a B-rank kinjutsu which is dangerous even for jōnin.” He then went on to explain the strengths and weaknesses of shadow clones. Naruto then explained that he already showed Shindō-niisan the technique and has come up with a training regimen to utilize the technique’s advantages. He has made progress on his own with the help of both his adoptive big brother, Kakashi-sensei, and even the Third Hokage which he nicknamed “Ojii-san” because of their bond akin to that of grandfather and grandson.
Hinata was a bit disappointed but came up with a different idea. “N-Naruto-kun, h-how about y-you use you-your clones to f-fight me. I-I’ll dispel the-them using m-my c-clan’s fighting style,” she said, gesturing to the clones who were as attentive as their “Boss” (ボス, Bosu). Naruto pieced it all together before finishing for her, “When they’re dispelled, I can learn how to fight better and develop both my approach and even gauge an opponent better. Oh, yeah, great idea, Hinata-chan! Let’s go, BELIEVE IT!!” His mood went from negative to positive in an instant, making Hinata blush and feeling confident as she was about to help her crush big time. The only hurdle was to fight against the clones of her crush. She was nervous about hurting them, but Naruto’s clones surrounded her and jumped to attack. Instinctually whilst thinking about her victory over Sakura, Hinata could not help but feel a new surge of confidence before seeing several Naruto clones charging at her. Using precise Gentle Fist strikes on each clone, she dispelled them, one-by-one. Those who got too close and struck at her with either a punch or kick Hinata evaded and effortlessly dispelled them with a Gentle Fist strike. There were a dozen shadow clones, and she managed to take them out in less than a minute as Naruto’s taijutsu, while still raw and undeveloped, still utilized the numerical advantage and used teamwork in an attempt to overwhelm her. Each clone thought they understood her abilities before being proven wrong as she dispelled them with a Gentle Fist strike, a well-timed kick, and the ferocious Palm Bottom to disrupt the chakra that each shadow clone is comprised of, making it dispel in a puff of smoke. Naruto felt each clone’s memory and experience and could not believe how awesome Hinata is. Unlike Sasuke-teme or anybody else, he felt a sense of happiness over his loss, similar to the spars he has with his nii-chan. Her movements were like a dance as she easily flowed through the chaos of his shadow clones whilst dispelling them simultaneously. The more he thought about it, Hinata was weird but never hit him and was always nice to him. Even Shindō-niisan encouraged him to be friends with her. But how could he befriend a weirdo? Plus, she is an heiress to one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha but was now remembering the first time they met eight years ago.
Flashback, Eight Years Ago:
Hinata was surrounded by three older boys who made fun of a three-year-old Hinata Hyūga whose eyes were full of tears. Earlier, she got accidentally separated from her bodyguard before it began snowing again over the already snow-covered landscape outside her clan compound’s walls. “Hey, weird eyes, are you going to cry? I know, why don’t you beg,” said one of the older boys as his friends struggled to keep in their laugh. Not knowing anything else better to do, Hinata tried a dogeza position, apologizing for whatever she did to offend them, only to get more laughs, jeers, and taunts from the bullies as they now made fun of her intelligence. This was the scene a four-year-old Naruto Uzumaki stumbled upon whilst walking nearby. He immediately saw what was going on and knew a lot about bullies and those who would dare attempt to pick on the weak were trash and needed to be put away, at least that is what he took away from both his (adoptive) nii-san’s and tō-san’s words. Despite not knowing who it was, he yelled to the laughing bullies, “Hey, stop it!! All of you!! Leave her alone!!!”
Suddenly, the three bullies realized who he was and immediately scoffed. “Tch, you’re the brat belonging to the Tailed Beast Without a Tail, right?” said the more rotund bully before Naruto gritted his teeth. Before he could do anything, the bully in the middle said, “Hey, why don’t we teach him lesson. After all, he’s all alone. Even his older brother isn’t here, and my parents said that blondie here is nothing but trouble and said it’s okay to hurt things that are trouble.” The tallest bully agreed and cracked his fists, only for Naruto to kick him in his right shin, making him scream in pain before the other two bullies grew enraged and attempted to beat up the blonde punk. During the scuffle, Hinata watched and listened to the boy and was amazed at Naruto beating up the bullies using his small size to evade their grasps as he knew that he would be done for if they caught him in their grasp. Unfortunately, the bully he kicked in the shin recovered enough to punch Naruto in his left eye which was beginning to swell. Naruto, however, was not deterred, however, as he simply punched his attacker right back in the nose, making it bleed before doing the same to the other bullies when they were close enough within reach. The bullies were cowards as they overestimated themselves and greatly underestimated Naruto and wisely decided to run away from this monster that they heard their parents call him. Naruto did not pursue the retreating bullies, instead yelling to them, “Don’t you ever mess with this girl again, you punks, or else!” He punctuated the last part with a clenched fist which scared them more as they ran away as fast as they could, disappearing beyond the trees and surrounding snow.
Naruto turned and squatted next Hinata to get a closer look at her. Her cheeks began flushed a deep shade of pink as Naruto stared at her eyes and asked with concern written on his face, “Are you okay? My name is Uzumaki Naruto, BELIEVE IT! What’s yours?” Hinata was at a loss for words as she tried but was too shy to say anything before a familiar voice of her bodyguard, “Hinata-hime, what’re doing here with that monster?!” Naruto immediately grew scared and ran away from scene as the enraged Hyūga member attempted to give chase, disappearing quickly before her bodyguard returned promptly. He asked, “Hinata-hime, are you okay? That blonde boy didn’t hurt you, didn’t he?”
She quickly blurted out, “N-no, Kō-san. In fact, he saved me from bullies and wanted to know I was okay.” The now named Kō Hyūga shook his head in disbelief and told the young heiress, “Hinata-hime, for the good of the Hyūga clan, please don’t associate with that blonde boy with the whiskers. He contains a monster within and could destroy anybody who gets too close. He’s―” He immediately covered his mouth, looked around before getting back up to his feet. Curious and scared, Hinata asked him, “W-what’s wrong? I don’t understand, what do you mean he has a monster within?”
Attempting to salvage the situation, and knowing he will be greatly punished for nearly telling Hinata the S-rank secret which promises death no matter what, the Hyūga bodyguard stood up with a reassuring smile, “Nothing you don’t have to worry about. Don’t worry about such things, Hinata-hime. Just stay away from that boy and everything will be fine.” He looked back to check and gently took Hinata by the hand. “C’mon, let’s go back home.” Hinata gulped as they walked back towards the Hyūga clan’s compound. Hinata looked back and could have sworn she saw the blonde, whiskered boy peeking from behind one of the trees as she turned around, bracing for the living hell that was her home.
End of Flashback
Naruto finished reminiscing and asked Hinata how she has been doing. She shuddered at the question, with a look of fear as her whole life at home was hell and Naruto-kun was what kept her enduring the torturous training of the Hyūga clan’s Gentle Fist fighting style. When Naruto saw her reaction, he attempted to ask what was wrong before Hinata used a fake smile and said, “U-um, Naruto-kun, I m-must get b-back with m-my team. I-I’m sorry.” Naruto wanted to stop and ask her, but she was gone with a sprint as she held back tears and kicking herself mentally for fleeing from her crush like this. Doubt crept in as the confidence she just developed dissolved in an instant, and she was blaming herself for it. Meanwhile, Naruto was confused and concerned about Hinata as he did not know if he spooked her by saying something wrong or did something which scared her off. He felt sad and lonely as despite having Shindō-niisan, he wanted to make new friends and thought Hinata was a weird but incredible person. He decided to return to his team to see what chakra control exercise Kakashi-sensei could give him. He still, however, could not shake Hinata out of his head and he will need to talk with nii-san about it as soon as team training was over and they once again complete three missions for the day.
Later that night, Hinata laid awake on her bed as her bedroom was illuminated with the full moon. She was plagued with today’s impromptu training session with her crush. She loathed what she did to Naruto-kun, and she spoke with both her team and Kurenai-sensei about it. While Kiba-kun teased her about it, Shino-kun and Kurenai-sensei smacked him upside the head as she was clearly in need of help. Kurenai-sensei then told her that she should open up with Naruto-kun about her feelings. If she feels nervous, she should just breathe. Hinata vowed to not flee from Naruto-kun again the next time they meet. In fact, when she has the chance, she will look for him and apologize. She hopes to get closer to him as she felt amazing for the first time in a long time since the passing of her dear mother, Saki Hyūga. Now that was a memory she would rather forget about and slowly drifted to sleep, dreaming about the whiskered boy with spiky, sun-kissed golden blonde hair and eyes like that of the ocean or sky. While in her sleep, she would quietly call out his name in a moan.
Elsewhere in the village, Naruto was dreaming about the time he spent with Hinata and that she was not only nice to him but began to think if she should know his darkest secret as it guaranteed him the status of village pariah. He opened his eyes as he stared at the ceiling before vowing to find out more about the Hyūga heiress. Little did he know that this is decision will change his life.
