Chapter 1
Nighttime Birthdays
Off in the outskirts of the Kohona Village sat a girl on top of a large estate's roof. She was 15 years old and was depressed as she silently cried in the cool autumn rain. Today was a very special day to her but the person that she wanted to celebrate it with wasn't anywhere around and no one else wanted to commend with her. All of her friends had the same story; their parents forbid them to celebrate anything today.
The girl's old school teacher Iruka-sensei, was sent out on a month long mission in Wind Country and wouldn't be back until December, so he couldn't celebrate with her either. Here she was, all alone, and saddened about how life was unfair, and what she was going to do about her bigger dilemma.
Hinata was to take over the Hyuga Clan in about three years and things hadn't been going so well at home. The elders of the clan believed that Hinata was too weak to inherit the title of the clan's leader but Hanabi wasn’t and she should instead become leader, not her five year senior. But her father had disagreed because he knew that Hinata had been working hard to improve herself and that she had the potential to become a good leader when he died. The elders were reluctant to agree, but they had finally thought up a solution over the last couple months.
Hinata is supposed to undergo a three-part contest with her younger sister in about three years from now on her 18th birthday. The first part is going to be a paper test on the Hyuga Clan History to test the sister‘s intelligence levels. The second part will be that the girls will be invited to a sit-down between other highly ranked clans from other countries to discuss important matters; this would test the sister‘s problem solving skills and how well they could deal with future politics. Finally, the third part is going to be a showdown to test the sister’s strengths and battle skills. Each section of the contest would allow the sisters to gain a certain amount of points and whoever had the most points at the end of the contest would win completely. The winner would then prove themselves worthy enough to become leader of the clan after their Father passed.
When Hinata had been told what was to happen she had almost immediately given the title of heiress to Hanabi willingly. She didn't want to become leader if it meant competing against her younger sister. When word had spread that Hinata had rejected the terms, even more tension (than usual) had grown in the Hyuga estate. The elders had persecuted her and demanded that she abide to the conditions that couldn’t be changed. When she had politely refused again and again they had become full of rage at the fact that she had the nerve to defy and dishonor them so bluntly. So they had summoned Neji, in order to restore their broken pride.
The elders had known that Hinata had an annoyingly, rapidly growing sibling-relationship with the Cadet Branch member named, Neji. So one day the Elders summoned Neji, all 9 of them activated his curse seal at one time and had told Hinata that if she didn't participate in the showdown that her cousin was going to suffer even more pain. Hinata had frantically agreed to their demands and after that she couldn't go back on her word. It wasn’t uncommon for an elder to punish a Cadet Branch family member so it had not been thought of much by most people.
Neji had been in the hospital with a comma for an entire month from the damage that they had inflicted on him. He had been sent to the Hyuga's private hospital so his visitors had been limited to his family, his sensei, and his teammates only. Tenten had visited every day that she didn’t have a mission, however his main visitor had been actually Hinata; she had went to see him every chance, every day that she got, and nothing had stopped her, not even her own massive web of guilt.
She tried to escape the gruesome memories of those weeks that had occurred about 2 months ago and let her thoughts stray to a familiar face that always seemed to brighten her day no matter what her situation was. The energetic boy was bouncing around in her mind, smiling, and ranting about how he was going to become the village's next Hokage. Her most recent images of the boy played with her inner thoughts until they brought forth the memory of an old dream that made her stop crying and stare into space with feelings of both dread and confusion…
Memory of Dream…
One-by-one her friends perished in it, one-by-one she watched them all die slowly in sheer pain…and all she could do was stand and watch. But when the flames came to the person she admired they stopped…dead in their tracks they stopped.
The blaze licked at the short boy as he stood there and watched Hinata with such sad and scared eyes. But he didn't seem afraid of the fire; no he seemed afraid of something else. Then it happened…crimson chakra leaked from his pours as his body began to transform into a more animalistic form. Ocean blue turned to ember as canine teeth turned to fangs, thin whisker marks turned to thick black streaks as his hair became wilder. A scarlet tail grew from the burning chakra and the boy let lose a pain filled earth quaking roar…
The girl wasn't afraid for herself…she was afraid for her friend. She didn't know what was happening but she could tell that it wasn't anything good and she acted upon instinct.
Forgetting about her serious case of shyness she rushed forward but the closer she got to the boy the hotter the temperature seemed to become. It reached a point where she couldn't bare the pressure from the gases in the air and the only thing that kept her going was her determination. Her inner feelings kept her legs moving even though they felt as if they were going to give out on her. A sudden blast of energy knocked her backwards and she noticed a second "tail" come out of the burning chakra. The heat rose immensely as well as the boy's cries and she began to pant but still she moved forward.
Three tails. A foreign black light surrounded her being and seemed to push her forward with enough energy to survive the climate.
Four tails. The boy's body transformed into a huge kitsune.
Five tails. She was pushing forward with all of her might and crying.
Six tails. Her tears began to evaporate.
Seven tails. The silver light began to fade.
Eight tails. She began to scream but continued to push forward as she thought 'I'll never stop going!’
Nine tails. The black light erupted around her as she reached the screaming animal. Finally she broke through his chakra and could barely wrap her arms around one of his legs. Her chakra tried to calm his but was failing miserably… She started to give up hope but then an image of the smiling boy pasted itself into her mind. Suddenly she remembered what the boy had been quoting for as long as she had known him. With a boost to her strength from her will power she tried again to calm the raging figure. The black light grew even more with each passing second.
Red eyes turned to her as they calmed and held a look of cold rage, respect, and gratitude. The fox grinned from ear to ear. It transformed back into its human form and collapsed in Hinata’s arms, its eyes were amber as they watched the girl intently. The lights went out all around them but Hinata could still see her last friend in her arms. The boy now looked battered, what remained of his clothes were torn and singed, his skin was scarred and bleeding, but he looked happy.
He raised a bruised and cut hand to lay gently on Hinata's cheek and tears threatened to spill from her pupils as their eyes met. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something and his lips moved as he talked but the girl couldn't hear him. His hand dropped loosely and his eyes closed softly as he smiled.
The girl grew frantic with worry and shook him so he could repeat what he had said to her but he remained silent and it scared her. The only thing that you could hear in the darkness was "Naruto-kun? NARUTO-KUN?!”
End of Dream…
That was how Hinata had woken up; crying and screaming Naruto's name, at the top of her lungs in her bedroom. Now she sat on top of her room's roof area and cried again for her friend. She pondered to herself what the dream had meant and just like before…was clueless. Slowly her tears dried as she remembered her promise to her secret crush. With a small smile on her face, she rushed back into her room through her window, and began to pack her sleeping bag.
20 minutes later…
Hinata quietly ran up the steps to the apartment building without stopping for even a second. Once she reached the top floor she walked down the hallway until she stopped in front of a door with a rusty, upside down three. She smiled to herself again, took off the key chain, put the key in the lock and turned it, and then opened the door. She stepped through the threshold and examined her handy-work from earlier.
The walls were sparkling, the floors were spotless, and the kitchen was so clean that you could eat off of the floor. But the best part was the fact that the entire apartment was free of its previous dictator…the mountains of ramen cups. Satisfied, Hinata tapped the door lightly; thinking that it would close easily. She walked over to the couch and slumped her bag against the furniture's arm and unzipped the front pouch.
Then she went into the small kitchen of the apartment and began baking a double-decker chocolate, chocolate chip cake. She preheated the oven while she mixed ingredients in a large bowl. Once the batter was ready she carefully poured it into a glass cooking pan. Finally she popped it into the oven, set the timer, and walked back to the living room to sit and wait for the cake to be done baking and ready for frosting.
She began to get bored from just sitting on the couch staring at the wall so she decided to get the decorations together. Streamers, frosting, candles, a party hat and Hinata's gift lay on the tiny coffee table before her. Hinata set up all of the decorations in the living room and by the time she was finished the timer on the cake had started to go off. She stumbled a little from her legs being wrapped in some shiny streamers but managed to regain her posture before she fell. She quickly put some oven gloves on her hands for protection against the heat and took out the cake. It wasn't as good as a gourmet’s chefs but she thought it was still good enough.
Slowly she spread the strawberry frosting on the cake's two layers with a large mixing spoon and then propped up the candles. Hinata knew that today Naruto turned 15 years old and that's the number of candles that she put on the cake. All of the lights went out now as Hinata lit a match and gently brought it to each of the candle wick's tips. She sat back and gazed deeply into the tiny flames and unconsciously her mind zoomed back to her nightmare. Blood curdling images rushed to the front of her mind and Hinata almost gagged on the cake.
She knew that it wasn't her birthday for another 2 months…but still she couldn't help herself from trying. "Otanjyoubi omedetou gozaimasu, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered right before she blew out the candles to the cake. She opened the curtains behind her to let the moonlight stream inside of the apartment so that she could see where the light switch was. But at the last moment decided to just leave the lights off; she thought the full moon looked beautiful tonight and that the florescent lights would just ruin that. Hinata sat back down on the couch and was about to cut a piece of cake when she stopped dead in her tracks. It suddenly seemed wrong to celebrate Naruto's birthday with out him, she had already made a wish on his birthday cake, and now celebrating didn't seem so noble anymore. She gently put the knife down, picked up the cake, and put it in Naruto's refrigerator.
Sitting back on the couch, she realized just how sleepy she was and how late it was getting. Her father would be angry that she had slipped out of the estate at night but Hinata was too tiered to care about the consequences of parental overload. So she went to her sleeping bag and just quickly changed into some shorts and a long T-shirt in Naruto’s bathroom. Then she pulled out a blanket, laid on the couch, and fell fast asleep with the moonlight surrounding her frame. The only thing on her mind was her crush…and at last she felt as if she were finally at peace.
But as the girl slept another figure was coming down the hall and had stopped in front of the ajar door with the upside down and rusty three on its front…
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A/N~ this is my first fanfic so I'd really like to see some honest feedback, please! Flames are welcome…but please keep the brutality down just a notch ok? I'm still a newbie at this, have a heart! Your comments will be valued much and will determine whether I should go on or not with this story…so thanxs a bunch and R&R! Bye! Oh, and ideas are welcome too! Bye again!
Translations (Japanese to English):
Otanjyoubi omedetou gozaimasu = "Happy Birthday to you" in formal Japanese.
Kun = male friend or male of equal age
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Chapter notes: A/N~ First off I would like to say that I do not own Naruto and/or anything to do with the series. So call back the savage lawyers. This is my first fanfic so I'd really like to see some honest feedback, please! Flames are welcome…but please keep the brutality down just a notch ok? I'm still a newbie at this, have a heart! Your comments will be valued much and will determine whether I should go on or not with this story…so thanxs a bunch and R&R! Bye! Oh, and ideas are welcome too! Bye again!
Translations:
“Otanjyoubi omedetou gozaimasu” = "Happy Birthday to you" in formal Japanese.
shyXvibrant_love (www.naruhinaislove.forumsland.com)
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fire_angel14 (www.media miner.com)
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shyXvibrant-love (www.fanfiction.net)
Chapter end notes: Please!! Please!! R&R me!! I wont know if anybody likes or hates my story unless I get reviews. You guys are reading my story but how do I know if you liked it or not? Please guys review for me. Even if it's harsh critisism; atleast thats still trying to help...say something to me, please.