Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Dragonheart	By : UmbreonMessiah Category: Naruto > General Views: 1643 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: Oi, that�s right, I don�t own
Naruto. Nor would I want to. Masashi Kishimoto is doing a great job so far
(now if only they�d just get Naruto and Hinata to kiss, life would be perfect).
The several Original Characters in this piece of fiction are the intellectual
property of myself and my friend, and therefore we request that you do not take
them as your own under any circumstances, unless you ask nicely first.

AN: This piece of fiction is based off a
Naruto Roleplay that is still ongoing between a friend and I. It takes place
post-timeskip, after the unfortunate events that befall Gaara. It is also
slightly AU, and deviates from the main plot and story points�so if you don�t
like where it�s going, don�t whine.

This prologue is a summary of the events that actually take
place prior to when the roleplay began. I thought it would be nice to give you
the backstory of the relationship I�ve made for Naruto and Hinata, rather than
just throwing you into it. I hope you enjoy.

Dragonheart

Prologue

            �NARUTO!!!!� the shrill voiced shrieked.
            Uzumaki Naruto grumbled as he turned over in
his bed, idly wondering why it was that women only screamed his name when he was
in some form of trouble.
            The fifteen year old blonde yawned as he pulled
the covers off his otherwise sleeping body, muscles tightening and relaxing as
he stretched out his tired limbs, mouth showing a wide circle of pink before it
slammed shut from an exaggerated yawn. Groggily he scratched his side, slowly
turning his head towards his frog-styled alarm clock to see why on earth someone
would be bothering him this early in the day, let alone shouting that loud.
            Needless to say, his serene blue orbs burst
wide open and went totally blank as he pointed and gaped at his clock, which
read eleven twenty-six in the morning.
            �Uzumaki Naruto!� The voice cried again,
throwing a rock at his window.
            The Kyuubi�s container slowly rolled himself
out of bed and went to his window, pushing the old fixture open with his droopy
hand, idly catching another rock that had been flung at him by the furious
pink-haired girl. Naruto�s eyes traced the sharpened stone, his left eye
twitching at the simple prospect that this one most likely would�ve broken the
aperture. Then he shrugged it off, figuring his old, rickety window probably
could�ve used replacing anyway.
            �What do you want, Sakura?� he grumbled none
too pleasantly. �I was trying to sleep.�
            Naruto gazed over his teammate from the now
nearly village-wide infamous Team Seven. She had, like a lot of his other
friends, changed a great deal over the two and a half years he and Jiraiya had
been absent from Konoha. Gone was the �useless� little girl who was assigned to
guard things while he and the boy she once would drool over if she saw a lock of
his hair, did all the fighting. She was now blossoming into a fine young woman,
apparently taking after her mentor, Tsunade, in more ways than her chakra-based
immense strength. She didn�t tease him � at least, not as much � as she used
to, and she was certainly more comfortable around him as whole. He had half
expected her to start walloping him on the head the moment he returned, but so
far, he hadn�t been hit. At least, not in a way meant to hurt him.
            Currently, his now-chuunin female teammate was
wearing a black v-neck top that, whether designed to or not, showed just
enough cleavage to almost make her alluring. She also had on a pair of
black-colored minishorts that only came to about quarter- to mid-thigh, covered
with a strapped on pink skirt of equal length. Elbow-length crimson, fingerless
gloves adorned her long, slender arms, and a pair of knee-high jet black boots
stood with her frame, her foot tapping the ground impatiently as she looked up
at him.
            �Sleeping my ass,� Sakura scowled. �Don�t you
have training to do or something?�
            Something about those words rung partially true
to the whiskered boy. Usually, Naruto was somewhat of a training demon,
spending the majority of his day that he wasn�t eating ramen training for
upcoming missions, or to simply improve himself. However, Naruto had spent
basically the last two and a half years training, and upon his return had been
swept off on a mission so fast his head had almost spun. All of this combined
finally made Naruto choose to do something he hadn�t done in as long as he could
remember being a shinobi: take a day off. He had actually planned to sleep
throughout most of the day to recover his strength and sanity, but apparently
his teammate had other ideas.
            �Well, either way, get your lazy ass out of
bed,� the pink-haired medic-nin grinned, �and get down to Ichiraku�s. Ramen�s
on me.�
            A million things probably would�ve gone through
Naruto�s head at that statement, if only he had even begun to try and understand
it. But, when the words �Ramen�s on me� left Sakura�s lips, he was dressed and
out his door faster than light could even hope to travel.

            Konoha was exceedingly busy and bustling, with
Shinobi and villagers lining the streets en masse, whether for shopping,
training, touring, or simply going out with friends and family. Not that the
businesses that thrived off them minded any one bit: it was times like this �
when everyone was bored from lack of missions or just from life in general �
that kept those little hobby shops and flower stores open.
            One particular store, however, enjoyed year
long prosperity: Ichiraku Ramen. This little ramen bar had, at one time, been
nothing on the scope of Konoha, almost going out of business. That was of
course, until the day Uzumaki Naruto started coming. Old Man Ichiraku and his
daughter were shocked at how many bowls of food that boy could down in one
sitting�shocked even more by the monthly profits created by him alone. The
current running gag between shopkeepers was that Naruto was putting Ayame
through college.
However, said best customer hadn�t
show up this morning when he usually did. In his place, however, came
individuals that normally didn�t find themselves taking seats at Ichiraku�s fine
establishment: a one Inuzuka Kiba, and his chronically shy teammate, Hyuuga
Hinata. The latter of the two was constantly pressing her fingers together, her
face rosy in a hot blush as she continued to stare and occasionally poke at her
miso ramen with her chopsticks, attracting the glare of her feral-looking
companion as he scarfed down his own helping.
�Hinata,� Kiba started, his mouth
half-full of the wet noodles, �are you going to eat that, or just beat it into
submission?�
Hinata looked up at Kiba sheepishly, taking some of
the noodles into her mouth and sucking them down in a half-willed attempt to
defy his statement. Upon completing the action, however, she returned to her
nervous finger pressing and stirring of her food, causing the Inuzuka boy to
growl.

            �Listen Hinata,� he managed with a wry smile, patting her on the
shoulder, �I know you don�t approve, but Shino and I made you come here for a
good reason, and you know it.�

            The Hyuuga heiress gasped softly, looking down at her bowl of ramen
and blushed harder, her finger pressing increasing in rapidity. �H-Hai,� she
stumbled across the words, �I know��
�Then would you please stop
fidgeting all the time?� he practically begged her. �It�s starting to make my
nose twitch.�
�G-Gomen, Kiba-kun,� she replied
faintly, turning her face to him for only a moment before she returned, once
again, to the idly beating of her meal.
The scruffy-looking young man
rested his head in his hand, looking over his dark-haired teammate with a
somewhat bemused expression. As far back as he could remember, she�d always
been like this, and it had to a certain extent, grown on him. What else had
grown on him was the way she had grown in just the last two years alone, along
with him and Shino. She was no longer the small girl she had once been; she was
now becoming a young woman in her own right. She had allowed her hair to grow
out, past her shoulders, grown taller, and indeed, developed those womanly
features that men Kiba�s age would definitely begin noticing. Yes, she was still
shy, but not nearly as much as she used to be. The blush that would
occasionally coat her pale cheeks only came up in some of the more embarrassing
moments she and the rest of Team Eight had endured over the last while, and she
hadn�t fainted in two years.
If you didn�t count how badly
she�d passed out when Naruto came back, that is.
Kiba had not really been shocked
when that had happened. It was no secret between the entireties of their team
that Hinata had the world�s biggest crush on Naruto when he had left for his
training with Jiraiya. But it had never been the subject of much consideration
to the dog-boy or his partners until Hinata�s fixation on the hyperactive blonde
ninja had only grown during his absence. Despite all of that prior
knowledge, when Hinata finally just blurted out one day when Kiba was teasing
her about it that she didn�t have a crush on Naruto, she was in love
with him, both him and Shino had been left a little dumbstruck.
Thinking back on that moment when
he had been teasing Hinata relentlessly about her idol, Kiba discovered that
every aspect of it had been stuck in his mind ever since. The way she moved and
flung her arms at him when she said it, the pitch of her voice, the fierce look
in her eyes. It had been pretty obvious at that point that she had been
one-hundred percent serious about the statement, reinforced by the fact that she
had blushed furiously and hid her face quite shortly after having spoke it.
That whole scene seemed burned into his mind, repeating itself over and over
every time Naruto was even suggested amongst them. It was replaying in his head
even now, which fit the moment really, as Naruto was why they were at Ichiraku�s
in the first place.
Somehow, and Kiba wasn�t exactly
sure how, Shino had managed to talk him into this. Even more amazing was that
he and the bug-user had managed to talk Hinata into this. This had to be
the craziest thing they�d ever come up with as a team, but it was for her, and
how could they simply pass up the opportunity? It had been thoroughly planned,
as well: even Sakura was in on it. But today was the day.
Hinata was finally going to tell
Naruto how she felt about him.
It was really Shino�s idea to
begin with. One day after Naruto�s return, the Aburame clan�s prodigy had
walked up to the shy girl and simply said: �You should tell Naruto how you
really feel about him�lest you never get the chance again.�
Those words got to Hinata. It had
never really occurred to her, or any of them for that matter, that Naruto might
never come back from one of his missions. In fact, it had never occurred to
them that none of them may ever come back from one of their missions
until Shino had said that. If those words had creeped Kiba out, the Inuzuka boy
could only imagine the things that had gone through Hinata�s head.
However, even it still hadn�t been
enough. Despite her feelings for the young blonde being so fierce, her shyness
was the more resilient of the two. Over the past few weeks, she would
constantly summon all the courage she contained, only to have it all retreat
from her at the very last second as she stared at � as she described them � the
deep, sapphire pools that were his eyes.
Kiba had to keep himself from
laughing as he pulled that memory up.
Since Shino�s first idea had
failed, it was finally decided that some drastic measures had to be taken if the
two ninja were ever to �hook up�, as the feral boy had put it. After talking to
Sakura about the situation, the pink-haired kunoichi had come to the decision
that simply waiting wouldn�t do the trick: they�d have to force Hinata and
Naruto to get together. Though Kiba was against forcing anything on the Hyuuga
heiress, both Shino and Sakura had finally convinced him (through more than
verbal persuasion) that it needed to be done. He however, could not understand
why it was he was forced to sit here, alone with Hinata, waiting for that stupid
boy to show up.
Since when does Naruto run late
for his favorite food? Kiba pondered to himself.
They had sent Sakura to see where
he was almost ten minutes ago, and ever since, Hinata had not stopped
fidgeting. Part of her was dreading this, and at the same time, part of her was
looking forward to it. He could tell just from the way she smiled that she was
� at least in part � thankful to him and Shino for having made her do this.
However things turned out, she was his friend, and Kiba wasn�t about to walk
around for the rest of his life seeing one of his friends unhappy.
Just then the curtain flaps of the
Ichiraku Ramen Stand flipped open to reveal Sakura herself, panting as she took
her seat next to Kiba and Hinata.
�Well?� the male stated
questioningly.
Sakura�s face gleamed with
something that was a mix of pride and glee. �He�s on his way�stupid jerk was
asleep.�

            �Asleep?� Kiba said, his head tilting like a confused puppy.
�Naruto�asleep past seven?�
The medic-nin shrugged her
shoulders, the smile on her face not relenting. �You�ve got me, I don�t get it
either,� she sighed, �but he�s on his way now. Speaking of which, do you have
any money?�

            The Inuzuka boy twitched, looking at Sakura defensively. �Why?� he
asked.
�The only way I could get Naruto
out of his apartment was to tell him I�d pay for his ramen,� she explained.
�But uh�I seem to have forgot to bring any money. So cover me?�
�Cover you!?� Kiba barked. �This
is Naruto we�re talking about! If I pay for his ramen I�ll be broke for
the next three weeks!�
�Would you relax?� Sakura
grumbled. �I�ll pay you back, promise. Besides,� she continued with a sly
smile, patting the nearly invisible lavender-haired girl between them, �this is
for Hinata, not us, remember?�
�Hai, hai,� Kiba grumbled as
Hinata blushed and held her head low at being mentioned in the friendly spat,
�I�ve got it, don�t worry.�
Upon finishing that statement,
Naruto himself burst into the quaint little restaurant, waving a good morning to
the Old Man and Ayame. He was about to sit down and order his usual, as well,
when his eyes caught the trio to his right.
�Eh? Kiba, Hinata?� he said,
giving that mildly confused stare. �What�re you guys doing here? You don�t
usually eat Ichiraku�s Ramen.�
After his latest slurp of the
stuff, Kiba came to the conclusion that this would also be the last time
he ate here. He couldn�t see what Naruto saw in these noodles�but perhaps ramen
just wasn�t his thing. Hinata, though consumed by a lack of words, seemed to be
enjoying them. He smirked at that thought, thinking at least she wouldn�t have
to humor him if this did work out.
�We decided to try something out
of the ordinary,� Kiba spoke up, �and this is the only thing that came to mind.
Right, Hinata?�
The shy kunoichi responded to her
name by looking up from her bowl and giving a curt nod. �H-Hai, Kiba-kun,� she
replied, her lips trembling a bit.
Just great, Kiba sighed
inwardly, they haven�t even looked at each other yet and she�s flipping out.
This is going to be harder than I thought.
�Well that�s great!� Naruto
exclaimed, taking his seat. �The more people who experience Ichiraku�s Ramen,
the better!�
The blonde ordered his first bowl
with a topping of barbecued pork � an odd choice for this time of day, Kiba
thought, but could tell from the way Hinata was sneaking peeks at him, that
given the chance she�d probably order the same, if only to get him to look at
her for a few seconds. In the back of his mind somewhere, the Inuzuka teen
figured if he were a girl, he might steal a few looks at Naruto himself. The
once overly hyperactive ninja had changed much in the two or so years since he�d
left the village: no longer was he a clumsy oaf who would run in blindly with
his Kage Bunshin and hope for the best. He also wasn�t short and skinny
anymore, either. The boy who was once made fun of for being the shortest member
of his three-man cell was now almost taller than Kiba himself, and had certainly
developed a much manlier physique than he had once possessed. The nin-ken user
could�ve gone on with these thoughts too, if it weren�t for the nagging in the
back of his head telling him it was a little inappropriate for him to start
admiring Naruto�s features.
�Oi, Kiba,� Naruto suddenly
started from a mouth full of ramen noodles, �where�s Akamaru?�
These words ripped the Inuzuka boy
out of his reverie, and caused him to sigh. �Hana has him in for his checkup.
I won�t see him till the end of the day.�
�Your sister really is the best
when it comes to stuff like that,� Sakura suddenly quipped as she slurped from
her own bowl of ramen. �You should be proud of her.�
From that point, pointless
conversations like that continued between Sakura, Naruto and Kiba, jumping from
subject to subject as the old friends slowly caught up on lost time. It was
quite a while before it clicked in Kiba�s brain that Hinata had been amazingly
removed from the series of questions, and his gaze turned to her. There she
was, eyes buried in that bowl of half-finished noodles, completely cutting
herself off from the antics going on around her. This caused her teammate�s eye
to twitch in annoyance.
Damn it, Kiba�s voice
trailed through his head, if she keeps this up, the whole plan will be
ruined. I�ve gotta act fast�
�Oi, Sakura,� the canine-esque
teen spoke up, �didn�t you say you were going to help me practice my latest
technique?�
Much to his expectations, the
medic-nin quickly picked up on the true intentions of Kiba�s words, and slowly
pushed her ramen bowl forwards, smiling just a bit too broadly for herself.
�Oh yes, how could I forget!� she
nearly shouted. �We should get to that, shouldn�t we? Alright you two, have
fun!�
Sakura ended that sentence by
patting both Hinata and Naruto on their shoulders before leaving the restaurant
with Kiba, the broad grin still etched on her face even as they rounded the
corner to go back to their regular, everyday routines.
A bit afterwards, a shout could be
heard across Konoha�something about someone forgetting to pay for a meal. Kiba
smirked and patted his wallet, knowing his savings were safe for now.

There was almost a deadly silence
over the restaurant after that moment. The only sounds that continued to drum
through the small space were the boiling of water and the petulant slurping
sounds Naruto made as he scarfed back more and more ramen.
The Hyuuga heiress might as well
have been invisible.
Hinata sat there, poking at her
miso ramen occasionally as the cheery blonde boy beside her continued to push
what seemed like incredibly unhealthy amounts of the stuff into his mouth. She
found the way his cheeks bulged at the excess amount of food to be somewhat
comical, but if a laugh had tried to display itself, it got blocked in by the
lump in her throat that was currently preventing her from talking.
It was torture. The young man she
had pined over for years sat less than a foot from her, and she was unable to
look up at him. They were practically the only people here, the only people who
could hear what she wanted to say to him, and she couldn�t find any words to
use. It was like the gods were standing before Hinata, sticking their tongues
out at her inability to do even the simplest of human actions: communicate.
Even as she tilted her head to look at the boy she so admired, she could feel
the blood rushing to her cheeks and the dizziness in her head that always told
of an oncoming fainting spell.
Get a grip, Hinata! She
mentally screamed at herself. This is your chance, take it! Shino and Kiba
forced you here so you could finally tell him�don�t screw up now!
�Hey, Hinata,� Naruto spoke up, �is something the
matter? You�re not eating your ramen.�
Being addressed by her love nearly
sent Hinata unconscious, but she struggled against her crazed shyness, taking
her time to sit up and nod to him, giggling at herself.
�G-Gomen, Naruto-kun,� she spoke
softly. �I�I didn�t�didn�t mean to w-worry you. See?� she continued as she
took her chopsticks and slurped some of the now-slightly-cold ramen.
The whiskered boy closed his eyes
in a jovial chuckle as he watched her gulp back Ichiraku�s specialty. �There
you go! Isn�t this stuff the best?� he shouted enthusiastically.
�H-Hai, N-Naruto-kun,� she replied
almost by instinct. She wanted to press her fingers together, but one hand was
occupied by the chopsticks she was using to down her meal, and thus made such
nervous twitch impossible to do. Because of that, Hinata resigned herself to
eating the ramen she had decided to buy, and discovered quickly that she didn�t
mind the taste at all. Rather, she enjoyed it a lot.
Hinata had managed to finish her
bowl in relatively good time for herself, sitting up with a pleased smile on her
face. A smile that quickly degenerated into a stare of disbelief as she turned
her head to check on Naruto�s meal progression, only to discover he had eaten
five bowls already. When the shock cleared her system, she found herself not
only giggling, but giggling loud enough for the blonde shinobi to hear her.
�Eh? What�s so funny, Hinata?�
Naruto queried in that clueless way he generally did things.
When she realized he was talking
to her, she gasped, turning her head and blushing a bit as she put her
chopsticks down, pressing her fingers together. �W-well it�s just�it�s kind
of�� she gulped, summoning all the courage she had ever possessed in her life to
bring out the words, ��k-k-kind of c-c-c-cute when you�e-eat so much,
N-N-Naruto-kun��
To this statement Naruto tilted
his head, and looked at Hinata with those wondrous blue eyes that washed over
her like tsunamis. She felt her heart beating wildly as his gaze met hers, the
blush on her cheeks deepening as she fought with all her will and sanity not to
avert her own pale eyes.
�Eh?� he uttered in an amusing
display of obliviousness. �What do you mean by that, Hinata?�
It was if the life had been sucked
out of her. Suddenly, Hinata could not call upon any reserve of courage or any
force of will to make her say what she truly wanted to say. The words played
themselves across her mind over and over, as if to scream, to shout, and to
paint it all across Konoha: I love you, Uzumaki Naruto! I�ve loved you for so
long, you�re everything to me! You�ve given me hope, you�ve made me strong
inside, and you�ve given me the inspiration to never give up!
What ended up coming out of her
mouth, instead, was: �Um�N-Naruto-kun�would you like�t-t-t-to�t-t-train
together?�
Ayame smacked her palm into her
forehead at the Hyuuga heiress�s failed attempts.

That was how, in an act that could
only be described as cowardice, Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto began to train
together. Whenever Naruto or Hinata didn�t have a mission, they would find a
time to train together that suited them both. At first, it was a bit of a
one-sided venture: Naruto did most of the training, while Hinata stood back and
watched from behind wooden posts.
However, as the days went by,
Hinata found it easier and easier to be close to Naruto. Within a week she had
started training near him, and shortly after that, they would be side by side,
practicing, improving, even going as far as to begin sparring with one another.
It all seemed to happen so fast, and the Hyuuga heiress could not have been
happier with the results. By the time two weeks had gone by, she found herself
able to look at him without blushing (too much), and she could actually talk to
him without losing her nerve. Though there were still moments when she would
find herself extremely close to him, and her shyness would get the better of
her, she was still beginning to overcome it and have fun with the boy she
secretly loved. It was the most amazing thing that had happened to her.
The experience didn�t benefit one
or the other solely, either. Both of them began to learn new and exciting
tricks from the other, including an in-depth look into each other�s fighting
styles. Their sparring matches started out short and quick, but with the prior
knowledge they began to evolve into true training lessons, ripe with surprises
and interesting strategies. Both of them looked forward to each practice,
wanting to learn more about the other, wanting to simply enjoy the experience.
However, none of this was relief
to the Byakugan-user. In fact, if it was anything, it was slightly sweeter
torture than anything else she�d been exposed to. True, she was enjoying
herself, and she got to spend time with the young man she had fallen head over
heels for, but at the same time, she dreaded it, and felt depressed by it. She
was able to be with him all this time, getting to know him, understand him (or
so she thought)�but she was still unable to open up her heart to him. At times,
while she watched him flaunt that tooth-filled grin, she would feel tears well
up in her eyes. So far, she had managed to repress all that, but she was
finding herself losing it. If she didn�t say something soon, she�d most likely
go insane.
Fate must�ve finally decided to
take pity on the Hyuuga girl.
That day, Naruto had arrived
first, wearing that trademark big smile that usually made her melt into a puddle
of blushes and fainting spells. It had surprised her, as Naruto was usually
last of the two to show up. Somehow that morning, he seemed more eager than he
usually had been. Something about it had set the girl at ease as she approached
him with one of her trademark blushing smiles.
�O-O-Ohayo, N-Naruto-kun!� she
squeaked.
�Oi, Ohayo Hinata,� he replied
almost whimsically. �Say, there�s something I want to ask you before we get
started today.�
Hinata tilted her head up, looking
at Naruto, but quite purposefully avoiding the flowing depths of his eyes, for
fear that the blush and fear associated with such an action would cause her to
faint before she had a chance to respond.
�Wh-what is it, Naruto-kun?� she
questioned.
�W-well,� he started, rubbing the back of his head,
grinning even wider. �I�ve been wondering�um�if you might be able to teach
me�some of that Jyuuken stuff that you do.�
Hinata�s eyes lit up as much as
two pupil-less eyes could. She could hardly believe the words that had exited
his mouth. Naruto wanted something from her, that only she could give?
As trivial as it might have been,
to her, it was the most important thing he�d ever said.
�B-but N-Naruto-kun,� she suddenly
found herself saying, �w-without the Byakugan, using Jyuuken is basically
pointless. Y-You wouldn�t be able to do it anywhere close to effectively.�
What the hell are you doing?!
Hinata screamed at herself. The first time Naruto has EVER needed ANYTHING
from you, you start turning him down!?
�Oh, really?� Naruto sighed,
blinking in disappointment. �You�re�sure there�s no way I could learn it?�
Hinata felt her breath catching in
her throat as she noticed the melancholy that stuck on the blonde�s features.
�D-Do you�really want to learn how to use it that bad, Naruto-kun?�
The Jinchuuriki pounded his chest
with one hand proudly, beaming. �Of course, Hinata,� he boasted. �I�m willing
to do anything to get better. Even if I can�t use it like you can, I�d still
like to try!�
Hinata�s heart pumped harder as he
spoke, her face shimmering red as she drank in every last word to leave his
lips. That old phrase of his, the one she had adopted so many years ago, rang
through her head over and over: I never go back on my word. That is MY way
of the ninja. The reason why she admired and loved him so, because of what
he had taught her without even knowing.
Giving up, no matter what
presented itself, was never an option.
�O-Okay!� she gasped the words.
�I�ll�I�ll try my best to teach you, Naruto-kun!�
�You will?!� Naruto shouted.
�Alright Hinata! Show me what to do!�

Three days had gone by since that,
and Hinata had discovered, despite how much she cherished Naruto, and how much
she wanted to be together with him, there was a certain aspect about him that
drove her almost crazy. It was the thing impeding their training, and it was
the thing that was almost making her give up.
This boy just had no chakra
control at all, did he?
That was probably the crude way of
saying it. Most likely the way Neji would�ve said it had he been supervising
Naruto�s training. The reality of the situation is that Naruto had what would
have to be considered as a lack of chakra control. He had some, just the
basics, but beyond that his control was a bit shaky. It would either take
months of training, or a miracle, to get this point to perfect Jyuuken�and even
then, he lacked the eyes to make it work properly.
Not that Hyuuga Hinata gave
twenty-six hells whether he could get it right or not.
Each and every day since then,
they had been together whenever they were free. Side by side, they would
practice palm thrust after palm thrust, using chakra, and trying to produce the
correct results. For three straight days Naruto and Hinata trained together,
and all he had to show for it was something he basically already knew from
fighting Neji: the stance of Jyuuken, and the way to use it. It was beyond him,
however, how to control his chakra and force it through his palms in precise
bursts. Try as he might, for three straight days, they would continue trying
until he would finally become exhausted from the long training, and he�d be no
better in that regard. Despite being frustrated trying to explain things to
Naruto that were almost second nature to her, Hinata could not have been happier
with the time it allowed them to spend together.
Then, on the fourth day, it
happened.
Training had been going as usual.
It was around four in the afternoon, and Naruto was showing signs of tiring,
something that was kind of uncharacteristic of him, but the kind of training he
was going through with Hinata had done that to him a lot. After the last failed
attempted to perform the technique right, Naruto had slumped to the ground with
a sigh, panting hard. The pretty lavender-haired girl leaned down, patting him
on the shoulder comfortingly at this, flashing a blushing smile.
�It�s alright, Naruto-kun,� she
said, surprising even herself by not flinching or turning her gaze away, �you�ll
get it eventually.�
Then something unthinkable
happened. Uzumaki Naruto, the boy with the most unshakable confidence in the
world, looked up at the Hyuuga girl with tears in his eyes.

            �G-G-Gomen, Hinata,� he choked, �I�m�I�m just n-no good at this kind
of thing.�
Said girl was taken totally aback
by this. Something in her mind screamed that he was a clone, a poor imitation
somehow, that any second the chakra smoke would clear and a log
with a note saying �Gotcha!� would appear in his place. Hinata�s Naruto
would never have started crying, would never have said it was too tough, and
would never have just given up!
�N-Naruto-kun!� she found herself
shouting. �Y-You can�t just give in! I-It may be difficult, but�but you have to
try, don�t you?�
He sniffled in response. �It�s
just,� he started again, �there�s no way for me to have the kind of control I
need to make this work.�
�So you�re just going to cry and
give up?� the Hyuuga heiress scowled. Such a reaction was foreign to her, and
inside her own head she could hardly believe she was talking this way. �That�s
not you, Naruto-kun! You never give up, no matter what! So try again, and if
that doesn�t work, try again!�
The blonde boy suddenly looked up
at the kunoichi�s fierce expression, and gulped, steadying himself and getting
up on his own feet.
�Arigato, Hinata,� he said in
barely a whisper. �I was starting to forget myself.�
The blush across her cheeks
would�ve been visible from the moon.
Each of them took the Jyuuken
stance, eyeing one another, readying for the next strike. Hinata felt her lips
dry as she steadied herself, a lock of her hair drifting in the light breeze in
front of her eyes. She didn�t even bother to move it out of the way, simply
choosing instead to activate her Byakugan to see.
Which was about when she saw it.
Naruto�s chakra was running low at
this point. His inability for precise control and mild temper concerning his
training had caused him to expel more chakra than he probably should have from
his body. So it shocked Hinata quite deeply when she saw his body brimming with
a bright, red chakra, coursing through his tenketsu and flickering powerfully
over his body. She stared in complete awe at this amazing force, her guard
dropping.
Naruto struck her, quite suddenly,
in her left shoulder. There was a loud pshh as the red chakra gushed
from his palm against her, and through the upper left of her body. She cried
out, falling back against a nearby training post, gripping the injury with her
right hand, feeling the slight burn the chakra had left on her skin underneath
her clothing. She bit back a cry of pain, slumping against the post behind her
and sighing as she rubbed the spot firmly to alleviate the pain. She felt her
feet give out from underneath her suddenly, and fell to the ground, only to feel
herself be caught in the arms of the very person who had hit her.
�Hinata!� Naruto cried out,
pulling the heiress to her feet. �Are you alright? I didn�t hurt you, did I?
Should we call Tsunade-baachan?�
Hinata gasped, her cheeks flushing
and her head growing dizzy as the blonde held her so tightly, the look of worry
in his eyes evident. Somewhere inside of her, Hinata cried in joy for the
concern he showed for her. It meant that, even if it was just a little, he
cared.
�I�m�I�m fine, Naruto-kun,� she
whimpered, wincing as pain coursed through the spot where that amazing red
chakra had burned her. �I�ll be okay, honest.�
�You�re hurt!� he gasped,
straightening her out. �Quick, I�ll take you to the hospital and��
�Naruto-kun!� she yelped out,
wincing again at the burn. �P-please, I�m fine. I�m not some little girl
a-anymore.�
Naruto looked her over and smiled,
nodding his head. �Of course, Hinata. I gotcha.�
They both shared a friendly laugh,
mostly at Hinata�s expense, she guessed. After the fit of giggles had died out,
she looked over Naruto, and with her palm, gently shoved him in the shoulder.

            �Arigato, Hinata,� Naruto said suddenly in a soft tone. �If it
weren�t for you, I�d have given up before I�d ever gotten it right.�
The pale-eyed girl felt her heart
skipping several beats as she looked up into his glowing sapphires, her head
spinning as she grasped faintly at her consciousness. �N-No, Naruto-kun,� she
almost whimpered, �y-you don�t have to thank me.�
�Why not?� the other asked.
Hinata had expected herself to
freeze up, hide her face, or at least faint. Instead, she found a reservoir of
hope and courage she didn�t even know she possessed, and soon the words passed
through her lips with shocking confidence.
�Because if it weren�t for you, I
wouldn�t have learned that lesson myself.�
Naruto�s eyes widened at that
statement, looking down at the passionate flare in her otherwise lifeless eyes,
staring into her. �H-Hinata��
The kunoichi shook her head, not
letting him interrupt. �It�s because of you that I have confidence,
Naruto-kun,� she breathed out, �no matter how small it may seem. You�ve given
me the ability to believe in myself�and�and you�ve taught me to never give up,
or go back on my words. You�ve taught me so much, Naruto-kun. That�s why��
At this point, Naruto�s hands were
holding Hinata by her shoulders, steadying her as she stood up as tall as she
could, legs still a bit shaky. Her gaze fixated on his own, their eyes meeting
with a sudden spark, which ignited something within her, giving her the strength
to say the last bit of what she wished to say.
�That�s why�Naruto-kun�� she
gasped out, suddenly snapping her eyes out, �that�s why�that�s why I�ve fallen
in love with you, Naruto-kun!�
The shocked silence that consumed
both of them seemed to last for an eternity. Hinata�s heart pounded in her
ears, and she could hear and feel every breath fill her chest and exit her
mouth. The boy she loved looked down at her with surprise, still holding her by
the shoulders as a light breeze blew around them, lifting the locks of Hinata�s
hair up and down with it. The deep blush began to spread across the Hyuuga
girl�s cheeks again as she realized her body was moving forward, tilting her
head up, reaching up with her lips to meet his own, all of her own volition.
Only to be stopped by Naruto�s
calloused fingers.
�H-Hinata,� he whispered. �We�you
and I�we shouldn�t�be together. It�it wouldn�t work.�
She felt like her heart was being
torn in two. She had finally, after all these years, found the strength to tell
the person she dreamed about how she really felt about him, and he was turning
her down. Rejecting her. Water gathered in her eyes as a low sob echoed from
her throat, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
�Wh-why?!� Hinata cried out.
�Why, Naruto-kun?!�
Seeing the tears streaming down
her face, the hurt he had caused her, the blonde shinobi knew that he could not
make some lame excuse. He bit his lip and turned his head from her for a
second, expelling an agitated sigh.
�Because,� he spoke calmly,
�I�m�not normal.�
Her small hands gripped at his
orange and black jacket, holding hard, listening to every word that came from
his lips, tears staining her cheeks.
�Hinata, I�you�re only going to be
the third friend I�ve told this to,� he spoke solemnly. �I�m�I�m not normal.
Inside me�sealed inside me, by the Yondaime Hokage, is the Kyuubi�the
Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.�
Hinata�s grip tightened on his
clothes as her eyes shot open. Though it was generally not spoken of in the
village, being the heiress to the most powerful clan left in Konoha, she had
read the history and texts surrounding the Great Shinobi Wars�and the demon
beast that had taken the Yondaime�s life to stop. To think that that giant
beast, that had threatened to destroy all of the Fire Country, that had nearly
crushed their lives before they had even started, was being carried by the boy
she loved.
Suddenly, she understood why the
village had hated him so over all these years. It only made the tears come
faster and harder.
�That�s why�� he whispered again,
�that�s why we shouldn�t. B-because�because I�m losing control of it�and I�d be
putting you and your family in danger. So��

            �I don�t care!�
Naruto�s eyes burst wider than
they had been before, and trailed down to the trembling Hyuuga girl, who clung
to him tightly, sobbing beneath his grown body.

            �I don�t care!� she repeated, voice choked with sobs. �I don�t care
if you�re some sort of creature, or if every villager in Konoha hates you! I
don�t care, Naruto-kun! I love you, I love you no matter who or what you are!�
She buried herself in his chest,
sobbing and drawing him close as he continued to stare at her in shock and
disbelief. The words Hinata had uttered were not hollow, nor were they spur of
the moment. The words she had spoken had come deep from within her heart and
soul, and they touched Naruto in a way no other person�s words ever had. His
strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling her in for a deep hug as he rested
his chin on her head, stroking her back to calm her down as she trembled and
quivered into his form.
Minutes went by with neither one
of them saying a thing. Hinata�s tears and sobs slowly came to an end, and were
replaced by her melodic breathing, rising and sagging into her love�s chest,
hearing his heart beat against her ears. The rhythmic pumping set her at ease,
and moments later she tilted her head up from his body, straightening herself,
looking back into his calm, blue eyes.
He was smiling at her. That big,
dopey, full-toothed smile he always flashed when he was exceedingly happy. It
made her smile too, a soft giggle passing over her lips as she slowly closed her
eyes, and leaned upwards, her right hand leaving his jacket to run her fingers
across his cheek.
This time, he didn�t resist. Both
his hands slipped over her shoulders to cradle the back of her head as his own
eyes closed, pushing his lips down to meet her own. Both met in the middle,
their mouths colliding as they finally kissed, the smaller girl melting into the
body of the Jinchuuriki boy, whimpering out as she clung to him for dear life,
savoring the feeling, imbedding it in her mind forever.
Though it lasted naught but half a
minute, both of them could have sworn hours had gone by before they separated,
still held by each other�s hands, breathing slowly and steadily, gazing into one
another�s eyes.
Naruto reprised his earlier smile,
giving a small laugh. �So�you wanna go out for some ramen later?�
Hinata laughed and hugged the
young man around his chest, snuggling her head underneath his strong jaw.
Life was finally good.

There you go! Prologue done! Please don�t be afraid to
share with me what you think (but try to be more constructive than
destructive). Utter flames will be used as fuel to heat my home. The real
story should start soon.
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Dragonheart

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