A/N: Welcome to what I hope will be a massive project. This is kind of a feeler chapter, see what y'all think. I really love NaruHina, (read "Hinata's Birthday" its my other fic) and I just felt like the show didn't really do their relationship any justice. SasuSaku was also kinda ignored, unless you read some of the light novels. Please read the end author notes for other important notes.

Key (For the whole fanfic):

Italics – Thoughts, Flashbacks

Bold – Tailed Beast/Summon animals talking (i.e. Kurama, Gamabunta, etc…)

Underline – Jutsu Name

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, NARUTO: SHIPPUDEN, BORUTO, OR ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS, THIS FANFIC IS MADE PURELY FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT AND I AM NOT PROFITING OFF OF THIS. PLEASE DON'T SUE ME THANKS.

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Long ago, the village Hidden in the Leaves, was attacked by a monstrous demon fox spirit. The Kyuubi, as it was called, brought upon destruction to the whole village. One shinobi stood up to the fox, he was known as the Yondaime Hokage, and he was one of the greatest heroes of his time. He banished the fox away, sealing it's chakra into a newborn baby, ending his own life and taking the fox with him. He was heralded as the Savior of Konoha, and is revered by shinobi and civilian alike. Truly a great example of the Will of Fire.

It was October 10th, twelve years had passed since the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha. People mourned, celebrated, cried, laughed, all thanks to the work done by the Yondaime Hokage. The only one who wasn't celebrating or mourning was Naruto Uzumaki.

He woke up early in the morning to his alarm clock and groaned. Dammit I have to go to school today. Maybe I should skip. As soon as the thought crossed his mind an extremely angry young man with a topknot of brown hair appeared in his brain, NAARUUTOOO! IF YOU EVER MISS CLASS AGAIN I WILL FIND YOU AND TIE YOU TO A CHAIR ALL DAY. Naruto shivered at the thought of his sensei and Academy teacher and devised a plan to get to school.

Normally he wouldn't have to think too hard about how to get to school but this day was… well… different. For some reason, every year, the villagers were extra mean to him on his birthday. While he was used to the glares and the mean comments, he usually never got harmed all too seriously. Usually.

He remembered when he was younger, probably about 6 or 7, he saw the celebrations and wanted to join in, not really understanding what they were for. He was smiling when he left his house, but a mere three hours later he was sitting in urgent care with multiple broken bones and suffering a serious concussion. From that day, he vowed to never try and celebrate his birthday in public again.

He never really understood what he did to deserve such treatment. Everywhere he went, civilians and shinobi alike would just glare at him, pulling away their children and friends as if to protect them from some disease. He assumed that he had done something before he could remember, or that it might have been something his parents had done. He had never met them but the Sandaime Hokage never told him anything about them. Naruto had asked the man many times about who his parents were and the older man just brushed off the question, saying it wouldn't bring them back.

Naruto had cried after that, he wanted nothing more than to meet his mother and father. He was jealous of how other children went to school with lunches made by their mothers. He was jealous when their parents would come and pick their children up from the park. When he was playing with kids, he forgot about his loneliness, only for it to return as soon as their parents arrived to pick them up. He was left in the shadows of the setting sun, walking home all by himself.

Seeing the other children with their parents tore at Naruto's heart. In his mind, he would always imagine what he thought his parents would be like, right now he was caught in one of those reveries.

He was sitting at a breakfast table, patiently waiting. The cause for his patience came around the corner and smiled at him, "Hey champ! Good morning!" His father said, eyes crinkling into a smile. Naruto returned with an even larger smile.

His father was a tall man, lean yet well-muscled from his countless years of training. On his head were spikes of light brown hair, with a texture similar to Naruto's, and he gazed at his son with loving, green eyes. Everyone told Naruto that he and his dad looked completely different but were the same child on the inside. Some wondered where Naruto even got his blond hair from, until they saw his mother.

Speaking of which, his mother came out of the kitchen, gently carrying a tray of food for the whole family. She was of average height, lean just like his father, however in contrast, her hair was long, smooth, and an almost blinding blonde. The only thing brighter than her hair were her blue eyes which were just like Naruto's.

"Sorry it took so long, my dear Naruto, but I had to make something special for today." She said in a gentle voice. To Naruto's surprise, there was a small cake made in the shape of a frog. It said 'Happy Birthday Kitsune!' A loving nickname like that would usually be met with groans of embarrassment by boys of his age but Naruto loved and adored anything made by his parents, including the cake.

"Mom, you MADE this?" He asked incredulously, earning a smile and a soft laugh from his mother. The expression on his face must have been something because even his father threw his head back and howled in laughter.

Yes, this is nice, thought Naruto, and more bitterly, too bad it can't be real.

He depressingly brought himself back to the real world as he headed towards the shower. He didn't have the time to feel sorry for himself. Those feelings wouldn't get him anywhere. If there was anything he learned in his twelve years of living, it was that he couldn't wallow too long in self-pity and needed to take action. Besides, it wasn't as if everyone hated him.

His life had gotten a little bit better as of recently, his teacher, Umino Iruka, had taken a liking to him, despite his awful performance in school. He took Naruto to get ramen from time to time and introduced him to what was now Naruto's main source of food. Ichiraku Ramen had become a second home for the two and they spent a lot of time together outside of school because if it. Naruto spent so much time and money there that the shop owner and his daughter, Teuchi-san and Ayame-san, became like family to Naruto. He would lovingly refer to Teuchi as "Old Man Teuchi" and he would refer to Ayame as "Ayame-nee". His small, adopted family was like a safe haven for him.

He pulled on an orange jumpsuit after getting out of the shower. He looked in the mirror at himself and smiled, adjusting the goggles on his head. Something about the color orange did it for him. It was such a happy color, standing out wherever it was placed. It was the color of the burning sun in the sky, screaming for everyone to look at it. To him it represented his desire to stand out from the rest, proving to them that he was worth something. The color matched his blinding smile and his personality, he liked to think.

The color also gave him the strength to put a smile on his face, even when he felt like crying. It may have been strange to others to be this invested in a color, but for Naruto it was the only thing that he had. No matter how many times people made fun of his outfit, the smile that he got from putting it on never faded. He vowed to never part with it as long as the color gave him the strength to keep going.

He got into his kitchen and pulled out his breakfast. Instead of his usual milk and toast, he decided to spoil himself and took out some cookies he dug out of the trash of the next-door supermarket.

He struck a match on the box and stuck it into one of the cookies as a makeshift candle. He closed his eyes and thought about a wish.

What should I wish for? To be Hokage? Nah I asked for that last year. To see my parents? Maybe not, Old Man Third makes it seem like it isn't that important. To have a family? He scoffed. Yeah right, I think everyone in this village would rather die than take me in. He racked his brain thinking of what to wish for. Then it hit him. Smiling, he closed his eyes and made his wish, hoping more than anything that it would come true.

Blowing out the "candle" he bit into the cookie and started chewing. He instantly made a bitter face and spit it back out. "Oatmeal rasin? Who even thinks of making cookies with those?" He sighed, disappointed. He tried the other cookies to see if he had luck with any other ones. Of course none of them are the dark chocolate ones I like, everyone else eats them up! He sighed and quickly wrapped up his meal and made his way to his door. Before leaving he made a few quick handsigns, "Transformation Jutsu!" he exclaimed.

He transformed into a girl of about his age, wearing simple clothes with muted colors. He looked into the mirror, pleased at his work, nobody would even know it was him. He was quite a master of the Transformation jutsu ever since he used it to pull pranks on some of the more, ah.. hormonal men in the village. He recognized its usefulness for pranks but also in his everyday life. For some reason he would never be welcome in shops or around town. Not to mention the off chance a mob of people that would occasionally chase him around the village.

To deal with this, he put a great amount of effort in training himself in this jutsu. If there was anything he was the best at, it was transformation. He could easily make a perfect copy of anyone from just a single glance.

He looked through his peephole to make sure nobody was outside to see him leave his apartment. Seeing no one, he quietly slipped out the door, locking it and walking down the stairs instead of jumping off the balcony. He was taking very careful notice not to go by any of his usual habits in case someone got suspicious. He was not normally a paranoid person – except where ghosts were involved – but he didn't want to die on the same day he was born.

He walked calmly toward the Academy building, not drawing attention to himself. He was so caught up in his efforts to stay hidden that he didn't notice that he was being watched as he left his apartment.

Should I do it? I've put this off for so many years. A girl thought to herself as she sat on a rooftop. Looking into the window of our resident troublemaker's home.

She looked at the rising sun, noticing the time. He will be up any second, all I need to do is knock on the door and say, 'Happy Birthday!'. It's not that hard! Get yourself together! She took deep breaths and closed her eyes as her heart started beating harder.

Hinata Hyuga was a timid girl, she always had been. She stayed quiet most of the time in the Academy since she didn't want to draw attention to herself, fearing that she might mess up or make someone feel bad. She was also extremely worried about the thoughts of a very specific young blond.

Even though she would never have been able to vocalize it, she had a massive crush on Naruto Uzumaki. The boy had crept into her heart and had complete control over her when he was in her presence. While Hinata would never say it, the rest of their Academy class knew, as well as their teacher. He had figured out in the most embarrassing way.

"Okay class, we are taking a quiz!" The students all collectively groaned.

"Now now, let's not get too down, you are here to learn after all." Iruka said, "I am going to quiz you on some basic Ninja skills. You will have 30 minutes to finish this quiz, when you are done, please flip your paper over and wait for the time to expire."

He passed out the quizzes and started the clock. When his back was turned, Naruto looked hopefully at the ceiling.

SPLAT

The class looked up and broke into laughter. Iruka's face was turning red under the paint, his nostrils flared as he screamed at the blond in the back. "NAARUTOO! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL BE STAYING AFTER CLASS TO CLEAN THIS UP."

Naruto beamed and jumped right out the class door, on his way to the principal's office… for the third time that day.

Iruka grumbled and excused himself to the restroom to wash off and change. Leaving Mizuki in charge. The white-haired chunin stood over the class, emotionless look on his face as his eyes glazed over the classroom.

Iruka returned a few minutes later and excused Mizuki and began to pace around the classroom, to make sure students were not cheating.

Hinata was quite a smart kunoichi and had some of the best grades in the class. She had already finished, with ten minutes left on the quiz. She had her paper turned over and was doodling in it. She smiled and giggled softly to herself as she looked at her paper.

She was so busy enjoying herself that she didn't notice Iruka was passing by her and failed to cover up her paper. Iruka looked down and saw hearts surrounding a chibi version of his favorite student. He looked closer and saw another heart and inside it was Naruto and Hinata holding hands, looking into each other's eyes.

My, my, for such a young age she sure has artistic talent. He thought and immediately froze, recognizing the meaning of the drawings. She… likes… Naruto? His eyes widened as Hinata saw him looking. Her face instantly colored red as she frantically moved to cover the drawing but the expression on her teacher's face told her that the damage had already been done. She immediately passed out from the embarrassment on top of her quiz.

Iruka just smiled and moved on, everything now making sense. He had always wondered why she kept on stealing glances at Naruto. He had even noticed that she had slowly been moving closer and closer to where he sat.

When class was dismissed later that day he was approached by a very red and nervous Hinata.

"Is there something you need Hinata?" He asked kindly.

"C-C-C-Could y-you p-p-please n-not m-m-m-mention um… w-what you s-s-saw t-to a-anyone?" She stuttered out, not making eye contact with him.

"Of course Hinata, it's not my place to tell him." He replied, then adding, "Good luck, you'll need it with him, trust me."

At that last comment Hinata smiled and got even more red as she gave him a quick bow and hurried out of the classroom.

She shook her head to get out of the dream and noticed that Naruto was getting ready to leave. Oh no, I need to get it to him fast. She looked down at the parcel she carried.

She had always been giving him gifts on his birthday. Ever since he was put in the hospital a few years back. She felt such incredibly pity for him that she wanted to do whatever she could to make his day better. Later that day she went into a small stand in the market and saw a cute frog wallet that she bought. She took it home and wrapped it with purple wrapping paper, making sure the folds were neat and clean. She then put a cute orange bow on the package with a small note saying, 'Happy Birthday!' with a hand drawn picture of the Hokage faces.

It had taken all of her courage to knock on his door and sprint away as she left the package on his doorstep. She had used her Byagukan to see his reaction and was filled with happiness as she saw his eyes light up with genuine excitement. She had since then committed herself to making him feel happy every year.

Such a boy didn't deserve the treatment he got from the villagers. Hinata had been witness to countless acts of abuse against him by the village. When they first met, bullies had beaten him and thrown him into the snow, leaving him for dead. She noticed the gazes thrown his way and even witnessed some horrific treatment from shopkeepers when he had tried to enter their stores.

Yet none of these compared to what had transpired on his very birthday some years ago.

She was out celebrating with her clan. The Hyuga had lost several scouts to the Kyubi's attack and as such, they felt the need to participate in the village celebrations.

She remembered walking around with Neji and Ko, they went from stall to stall, playing various carnival games. Neji had approached her, "Hinata-sama, do you want me to win you something from here?" Hinata turned shyly to him, "Oh, Neji-niisan, you don't have to do that…"

"Nonsense, it's fitting that I give you a gift, you did buy me dango from that stall earlier" Neji replied, a small grin on his face.

Hinata blushed, "Oh please… you don't need to trouble yourself with this…"

"I think that necklace over there should do." Neji said, turning towards the stall, not waiting for her permission, seeing that he would never get it.

Hinata had no choice but to follow. Neji made quick work of the carnival game, having already taken on ninja training, he was well coordinated with his movements and easily placed enough rings on bottles to win the necklace. He then gave it to her with one of the last smiles she would see in his face for a long time.

"Here you go Hinata-sama, my gift to you" Hinata quietly accepted the gift and looked down at the necklace, it was indeed beautiful.

It was a plain silver necklace, surrounded by a flower forged from what looked like gold but was more likely some cheap alloy. It didn't matter to Hinata, it was beautiful.

The trio continued to enjoy the festivities until a commotion caught Hinata's attention, being curious she walked over to see a young boy being beaten and getting flung around like a ball among some of the men celebrating. She was horrified but couldn't help but watch.

She saw his unconscious body bleed profusely as people kept on kicking him around and jeering. People were even spitting on the boy, saying he was 'good for nothing'. As people were getting for the next round, she caught a glimpse of his face and recognized who the lifeless punching bag was.

No… not Naruto-kun, no he… he can't be dead… please no… The conflicting thoughts inside her stirred the knot in her stomach. She remembered him being the boy who saved her from the bullying, the one who selflessly took the abuse and even smiled to her after.

She had wanted to get to know him better but he had already left. Seeing him later at the Academy was a huge relief but she still couldn't bring herself to talk to him. She had no idea what was stopping her but whenever she had laid eyes on the boy her heart rate quickened and some feeling rose in her developing chest.

Now that very boy was close to death and by the hand of the very village he grew up in. She was so shocked and paralyzed by fear that she couldn't move. The abuse continued until ANBU showed up and imprisoned those men on the spot. The boy was then rushed to the hospital, and that was when Hinata noticed, he was wearing a self-made sign that said 'Birthday Boy'.

Anger developed inside her as she realized that this boy was getting treated so roughly, on his own birthday. Being of the Hyuga clan, she was given lavish celebrations and expensive gifts every year she grew older, yet this boy who was stronger than she could ever be was being treated like trash.

No, it wasn't right, and she would make sure to make it better for him in the future.

Usually she would just fearfully knock on his door and run away, so as not to be seen. She felt guilty about not being able to celebrate but once she figured out why she had that weird feeling in her chest every time she saw him, she couldn't help but be shy.

What was different about this year was the fact that she wanted to give the package to him herself, without running away. She gulped down her fear and faced his apartment. She was about to move but she stopped herself. What if he took the gift the wrong way? What if she messed up? What if he didn't like the gift? She thought to herself.

She always wanted to get closer to the boy, but she had a bad habit of stuttering and blushing furiously around him. The one time he touched her, he was checking to see if she had a fever of some sorts, after which she immediately fainted.

She was still deciding about her gift. She concluded that she had to give it to him. She had seen him so lonely throughout their years in the Academy and she wanted him to know that somebody cared. His half-hearted birthday celebration saddened her completely. She wanted so much to bust in and sing Happy Birthday to him, but she couldn't bring herself to it.

However, she had taken too long in deciding and Naruto had already left. She sighed and left his apartment, planning on dropping it at his doorstep later.

Arriving at the Academy Naruto let go of the transformation, there was no point in trying to fake his identity here. Ninja could tell the difference between and transformation and a real person pretty accurately. He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in.

On the way to the Academy he had almost been caught when he was helping a shopkeeper pick up some fruit that he had dropped on the ground.

"Thanks so much dear, your parents much be quite proud of you!" The elderly woman said, kindly smiling.

A shadow immediately crossed Naruto's face as he wanted to scream out that his parents were dead. The shopkeeper noticed and asked, "What's the matter?"

Naruto, flustered, looked up waving his hands, "N-No! Nothing's wrong! I'm all fine, dattebayo!" He mentally cursed himself for saying that last bit at the end.

The woman, stared at him for a little bit, her eyes narrowing. She was about to say something when someone approached her asking for the price of some melons. With her attention captured by the imminent sale, Naruto quickly made it away. Whew, that was way too close.

The hallways of the Academy were empty, Naruto knew that meant one thing, class had started. He used to not care about coming on time before, Iruka-sensei used to not pay attention to him. Ever since he had nearly gotten killed by enemy ninja Iruka was harder on him. If he was late today Iruka would have his head.

Sprinting to the door, he quietly slid in and snuck to his seat in the back corner of the class. Iruka saw him but continued on with the lecture. I have a feeling I know why he's late. He thought with a sad sigh.

Naruto sat down quietly and listened to the lecture, trying to see if it was about anything interesting. Despite his poor performance in the Academy, Naruto was not a terrible student. The problem was with the way he learned. He was not a book-learner and had to learn something by doing it. The problem with that was that there were no sensei who would take him in and Iruka had his hands full with his Academy duties.

Naruto had developed a skill in which he could listen to a lecture, but not really pay attention to it either. This was extremely helpful when Iruka was talking about boring stuff like history or genjutsu. Naruto could not have cared less for some dusty old relics and genjutsu just seemed plain useless to him. What was the point of creating illusions if they weren't real? While scoping out the topic of the lecture he heard one word that keyed in all of his focus.

"So class, today we will be going over the Hokage and some of their abilities." Iruka said as he pointed out the window to the Great Stone Faces. "As a senior at the academy you will be expected to analyze these jutsus and talk about what they are about. Before Christmas break you will each have to give a presentation on one of the Hokage and his jutsus. I will give you the details of this project later." The class groaned at the mention of another project, Iruka was known to be a hard grader and nobody looked forward to submitting a project only for it to get grading by him.

The only who didn't groan was Naruto.

"We'll get to study the Hokage? YES!" He shouted as he pumped his fist in the air.

Hinata saw his antics and giggled to herself. She thought his obsession with the Hokage was cute, the way he treated other subjects was completely different. Whenever talk about the Hokage started in the class he immediately started paying more attention and thinking harder. His face when he thinks is so cute. She smiled.

Although she thought it was cute, she also deeply admired his conviction. He was the bottom of their class and nobody really saw anything special in him. However, he had convinced himself that he would be Hokage, and he will be the greatest of them all. Hinata said to herself.

"Oi quiet down Naruto I'm trying to sleep here." The voice came from the notoriously lazy Nara boy. Shikamaru had been hiding behind the dog that was perched on Kiba Inuzuka's head so that Iruka wouldn't notice.

"Shikamaru, you're always trying to sleep, why do you think we have the night?" Naruto shot back.

"Night or day, doesn't matter. I still need to sleep, so please, keep it down." Shikamaru said as he closed his eyes again.

"I'll talk all I want; you should treat the future Hokage with some respect dattebayo!" Naruto smiled pointing at himself.

"Naruto you could never become Hokage! You're such a loser, AND you're the dead-last of this class too" Sakura pointed at Naruto.

"Yeah, you don't even have the skills to be a real ninja! You can't even make a clone! If anyone would be Hokage here its Sasuke-kun!" Ino said, staring dreamily at Sasuke Uchiha.

God damnit, Sasuke cursed under his breath he set them off again. Does he realize how annoying they are?

"Who him? He's just some quiet emo kid who doesn't talk to anyone, what's so special about him?" Naruto shot back.

The whole class was arguing now, all the students were ganging up on Naruto, telling him he would never be Hokage, that he was a loser, that he was the bottom of the class. Sasuke's fangirls were screaming at the top of their lungs, threatening to beat Naruto up for saying things like that.

Hinata was fuming, how could they say such things? He is NOT useless, he is a GREAT ninja, he can, and will be the GREATEST HOKAGE YOU HAVE EVER SEEN. Hinata wanted to scream that out but she just couldn't. She wasn't even sure if she was capable of being heard among all the noise.

Iruka pinched his nose, but then an idea popped into his head, "Well, Ino, why do you think that?".

Ino was taken aback by the sudden questioning by her sensei. "Well, because he's Naruto, duh" Ino said.

"So? Anyone can be Hokage, there aren't any rules saying who can and can't be Hokage. The Yondaime a clan-less orphan, there are no restrictions based on clan or parentage." Iruka stated in a manner-of-fact way.

"Besides, I think you're all being super mean to him for no reason, sure he pranks people but Naruto's a funny guy if you get to know him!" Choji said, suddenly standing next to Shikamaru. He was used to bullying too. Being from the Akimichi clan, Choji naturally possessed a larger physique and was picked on for it. He didn't want other people getting hurt too.

"But, but he can't be Hokage! He has no skills!" Sakura said, "I mean, like Ino-pig said, he can't even make a single clone."

"Well, the clone part I agree on but I think that if we gave everyone in this class time to train, then everyone in here could have a chance at becoming Hokage, even Naruto." Iruka said, giving the blond-haired boy a wink.

Hinata bit her lip and cursed herself. Yes! Iruka sensei is right! Naruto-kun will be a great Hokage! M-Maybe I should say something too… Hinata thought as she pushed her index fingers together.

Sensei… thinks I could be Hokage? Naruto just stared at Iruka in awe. Up until today, he felt Iruka was just saying it to be nice. To hear those words from him, with such conviction, was just unbelievable. His mouth turned up and he was beaming with the largest smile that he had ever put on.

Iruka looked over the class and caught Naruto in his sight once again. The bright smile on his face could have lit up one thousand caves. It even made Iruka break into a wide smile. That kid, this is the happiest I have ever seen him. He then turned to his lesson plan, given to him by the Academy, but he immediately scrapped the warm-up exercise.

It had suggested for him to have the students do an activity about the Nine-Tails and how the Yondaime defeated it. Since Naruto was in his class, he decided to skip it. The thought of forcing Naruto in particular to do an activity like that was sickening.

He lectured about the previous 4 Hokage but Naruto couldn't pay attention anymore. Someone had told him that he could be Hokage. I could be Hokage… Naruto said dreamily, picturing himself as the Godaime.

"Please welcome Konoha's Godaime Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki!"

The crowd cheered as Naruto stepped up on the roof of the Hokage building. Standing next to him was his beautiful girlfriend, Sakura. He looked at the village, "Thank you for choosing me as your supreme leader dattebayo! I now declare today, National Prank Day!"

As he said it, hundreds of Naruto clones flew through the air, throwing paint on the crowd. Some people were angry, but most just laughed.

"Wow our Hokage has such a great sense of humor!"

"Strong, witty, charming, and funny! We are so lucky to have such a great Hokage!"

Hinata looked at him and could barely contain her giggle. His eyes were glazed over and his mouth was curved in a perpetual smile. A small line of drool came out of his mouth as he dreamed on. Oh Naruto.. She thought as she looked at his face.

He was snapped out of his reverie when Iruka came to smack him with some papers.

"Ow! What the hell was that for Iruka-sensei?"

"Naruto, I called for lunch break 10 minutes ago and you haven't moved or blinked for an hour." Iruka said to him.

"Sorry, I just…" Naruto looked towards the planks on the floor, littered with pencil shavings, chewing gum, and other things associated with schoolchildren. It was a mess, just like the thoughts swirling around in his head. Though one thing rang out louder than the rest.

Everyone in here could have a chance at becoming Hokage, even Naruto.

Naruto could have a chance at becoming Hokage.

Naruto will become Hokage.

He jumped up and smothered Iruka in a hug. The older chunin stumbled and fell down the steps of the classroom and ended up in an assorted pile of human. Naruto giggling uncontrollably on top of him.

Before he could yell out Naruto said, "Thank you Iruka-sensei! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Naruto was literally jumping for joy as Iruka watched him, frown immediately replaced with a smile.

"Now if you'll excuse me..." Naruto said, turning around "I gotta go!" With that he rushed out of the classroom. Iruka couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Most of the kids gave him dirty looks when he went out for recess, but he didn't care, he needed to find Choji and thank him for defending him. He knew he was usually around Shikamaru and looked everywhere but couldn't find them. Where do those two disappear to?

He gave up on his search and walked around. He noticed the glares he received from his classmates and some passerby and realized that he was once again, alone.

He found his only friend at the edge of the yard. His friend was always there for him, listening to everything he would say. Not like a swing could do anything else. He sat down and looked at the building and all the children playing. Kids were running back and forth, kicking a ball through makeshift goals that were made by using their juice boxes. The girls were all sitting together, following a rather annoyed looking Sasuke around.

He was hit by a wave of anxiety; he heard the voices of the villagers calling him names. Demon, bastard child, the devil. He remembered all the parents, telling their own children to bully him and stay away from him. It was anxiety attacks like these that made some of his nights sleepless. These attacks were worse on this day, making him forget everything else and panic. As he looked at his fellow Academy students he just thought, Why can't I just be like them?

Tears welled up in his eyes, he didn't need to hide his emotions here. The trees provided enough cover. Besides, nobody paid him any attention, it was like he didn't even exist. It was always like this. Everyone pushed him away. Nobody was nice to him. What was worse about all of it was that he didn't even have anyone waiting at home for him. He wanted to so desperately cry to someone about what was going on. He needed to talk about it, but he learned at a young age that not a lot of people wanted to listen to him, and those that did, simply didn't have enough time.

He avoided coming home because he couldn't stand the isolation. The choking silence of solitude was too much for his heart. He was someone who thrived on social interaction. To get attention, he would pull pranks, so that people would acknowledge him, even if it was negatively.

But, as with earlier this morning, he wasn't as invisible as he thought he was.

Hinata stared at him from beyond the schoolyard. She was pulling out the lunch she had made for herself. She liked eating outside in the fresh air rather than the stuffy Academy lunchroom. She would patiently wait inside until they were dismissed for recess.

She saw him plop down on the swing he always sat on. She stared at him, looking deep into his eyes from afar. She loved those orbs, they were beautiful, endless, timeless, and full of bright happiness. But she knew that while those eyes shone with mirth, that was only just a cover for the deep pit of sadness that lay within them.

She recognized the signs of trauma in his well-practiced mask of happiness. To anyone else, he would seem as an easygoing, happy-go-lucky guy. Hinata knew better, she knew that the sadness he felt was eating away inside him, he had a desire to just be loved by someone, while she was determined to be that someone, she just was much too timid to act on it.

What she saw now was the ocean of sadness coming to the surface as tears slid down his face. That was when she made her decision.

I can't sit here any longer! No matter what, I have to make him happy! Nobody deserves to cry on their birthday! Hinata ordered herself to get up. She took some paces towards where Naruto sat, and her heart began to beat. Faster and faster, until it was all she could hear. She walked right up to him and stopped a foot away from him.

I-I'm so c-close to him! She thought as she tore her eyes off the ground and slowly moved up to his face. He hadn't noticed her approach as he was still staring out sadly at the playing children.

She studied his face and blushed, getting redder and redder. She looked at the whisker markings on his cheeks that were so endearing. The long eyelashes he had that almost made him look feminine. His shock of long, bright hair. What shook her out of it were the tears streaming down his face. She shook her head and cleared her throat.

Naruto didn't say anything. He continued to look out.

She cleared her throat again and called out, "Um… N-Naruto-kun…"

"Huh? What?! Hinata? W-when did you get here?!" He said, jumping up and vigorously wiping his eyes as he smiled.

Hinata's heart was doing somersaults at the sight of his smile but she reminded herself of why she was here.

"I-I-I j-j-j-just w-wanted t-t-to s-s-say um…" Hinata took a breath and cleared her head so that she didn't stutter, "Happy Birthday Naruto-kun"

Naruto's eyes widened and tears threatened to spill out. Someone was wishing him a happy birthday! Someone said 'Happy Birthday' to him! Not only that but a GIRL said it to him too! His day just couldn't get any better.

"Well thanks Hinata-chan!" He said, causing her to nearly faint. H-H-Hinata… c-c-chan? He c-c-called m-me H-H-Hinata-chan? Her face turning the color of a tomato.

"I… um… a-also w-w-wanted to tell you…" She took a deep breath, gathering her courage since her thoughts had already been in place for years, "I…" can I do it? "I t-think that y-you would m-make a great H-Hokage." She screwed her eyes shut so that she couldn't see his reaction, fearing the worst.

It was then that Naruto's eyes lit up even more, his look of shock turning into a smile when he remembered what Iruka said earlier. Yes, it doesn't matter what the villagers say to me. Iruka-sensei believed in me and so does Hinata-chan!

"T-Thank you so much… Hin…"

It was then that his stomach let out a mean growl. Now it was his turn to turn red.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry about that! Guess forgetting your lunch isn't that good of an idea huh."

Hinata's eyes shot up, "W-what? Y-y-you d-didn't eat lunch?" She reached into her pack and brought out her lunch and shakily pushed it to him. "Y-y-you c-can h-have m-m-mine." She offered him.

Naruto's eyes widened, not only did she wish him happy birthday, but she was also offering him her lunch? There's no way I could take this, she's so small! She needs the food. "Oh no I couldn't take your food Hinata-chan! It is yours after all." He said, lightly pushing the box back.

"N-n-no i-it's o-o-okay N-N-Naruto-kun, I-I-I'm n-not t-that h-h-hungry." She said pushing the box back.

"You know what? How about we share it?" He said raising his eyebrow. "That way both of us get to eat dattebayo!"

Me a-and N-Naruto-kun…. S-sharing lunch!? Hinata's blush that had been receding immediately came back in full force. Don't you dare faint Hinata! She told herself as she got her breathing under control.

Naruto scooted over on the swing and made room for Hinata. With her nervous system short circuiting at everything going on, her brain had to command each limb individually to move on its own. She robotically moved and sat down next to him.

I'm right next to him, eating from the same plate! She started eating, hoping that it would distract her from him being so close. Naruto had tried to make conversation while they were eating but all Hinata could manage were basic gestures and one-word responses. Then she noticed a bee buzzing near his head.

"Um… N-N-Naruto-kun, t-there is a b-b-bee, b-but I'll t-t-take c-care of it!" She activated her Byakugan and aimed a finger strike at the insect.

Only to miss and hit Naruto in the face, and to her horror, knock him out.

Her eyes widened with shock, Oh no! WHAT DID I DO?! She frantically rushed around his unconscious body, using her Byakugan to reopen the tenketsu that she accidentally closed.

Wow that dream was nice… Hinata-chan actually shared her lunch with me. That was nice of her, well, time to wake up… hey why is someone touching me?!

Naruto's eyes shot open as he jumped up and quickly scanned his surroundings, his fight-or-flight response triggering. He instinctively grabbed a kunai he kept in his pocket for self-defense. Years of being harassed had drilled into his brain that if anyone was touching him, especially while he was asleep, it almost always signaled something bad.

Hinata gasped and fell back on her butt from his sudden outburst.

Quickly taking into account what was going on, and putting all the puzzle pieces Naruto shook off the effects of the Gentle Fist as he recollected all his memories until…

"Geez Hinata-chan, you sure pack quite the punch!" He said, smiling a bit awkwardly.

She immediately turned red and held her hands to her chest, "I-I'm s-s-sorry a-about t-that…" She apologized softly, earning a laugh from Naruto. They realized that they still hadn't finished their lunch when Naruto's stomach growled and they continued their meal. This time in silence.

They ate until recess was finished and walked back inside together.

Naruto opened the door and grinned at Hinata as he made a grandiose gesture, "Ladies first"

Hinata giggled at his antics, her face still red from embarrassment, and said her thanks as they walked in. Hinata sat down in her seat and turned to see Naruto putting his stuff down next to her.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked, clearly a bit nervous.

H-he w-w-wants to s-sit next to m-me? Hinata thought. She managed to shake her head from side to side as he plopped his stuff down.

"Thanks for the present by the way Hinata-chan, the food was amazing!" He said smiling at her.

She turned redder and redder, poking her index fingers together. Do I tell him? Will he think I'm a creep? No, I need to tell him. This is my chance. Taking a deep breath, she said to him.

"Um… A-A-Actually N-Naruto-kun," He tilted his head to the side, God he looks so cute, "t-t-that w-wasn't y-your gift." She said to him.

His smile dropped and he looked at the floor. Of course she didn't get you a gift, she was just trying to be nice, stop reading too much into stuff dammit.

Seeing his expression her eyes widened and with newfound determination she said, "No! No! That's n-not what I m-meant!" She looked down and said, "I-I meant t-that… I h-h-have a r-r-real g-gift."

He looked at her, shocked. She already got me a gift? Wait, she KNOWS when my birthday is? His smile returned as reached out and pulled her in for a friendly hug.

"You're the best Hinata-chan!"

Poor Hinata couldn't take it anymore, she went limp and her head softly hit the desk and she was able to murmur out, "N-Naruto-kun…..s-s-said…..I'm…the b-best"

Naruto just looked at her puzzled, Was she really that tired? Maybe she needs to sleep like Shikamaru. Wait! Class is about to start! He started shaking her to wake her up as the lesson started.

"Hinata-chan? Hinata-chan? Hinata? Hinaaaataaaaaa?" He whispered trying to wake her up.

"If you keep on doing that, she'll pass out again when she wakes up" a deadpan voice said.

Naruto turned and smiled. "Hey Shikamaru and Choji"

The two boys sat down near Naruto. Shikamaru eyed the boy and just chuckled to himself, He may have potential, but he sure is dense. It would be much too troublesome to explain to him now.

"Hey I needed to tell you something." Naruto said, looking intently at Choji.

"Hm? What's up?" Choji asked.

"I… I just wanted to thank you," Naruto asked, bringing his eyes up.

Choji raised his eyebrows, "For what?"

"Well, for standing up for me! What else?" Naruto said, a bit irritated at the boy's actions.

Choji looked at him and smiled warmly. He then held out his bag of chips to Naruto, offering him to take one. Naruto grinned and took a chip and scarfed it down. His tongue lit up in a disco circus of flavor.

"WOW! That's good!" Naruto exclaimed.

Choji let out a hearty laugh, "You like it? It's ramen flavored." This statement caught Naruto's full attention.

"What!? NO WAY! WHERE DO I GET MORE!" He exclaimed, earning another laugh from Choji.

The rotund boy gave him a smirk, "Well, there's no more of them left…" Naruto's head immediately dropped.

"but…"

His head shot back up again expectantly, "I'll give you a bag, I have plenty at home."

Naruto salivated as Choji handed him an unopened bag of his new favorite snack food. Naruto then stopped thinking about food and carefully set the bag down under his desk. He then looked at Choji with a serious face.

"Thanks a lot, Choji, this means so much to me." He gave a soft smile to the boy.

Choji understood completely what Naruto meant. Prior to Shikamaru, he had no friends in the Academy. It wasn't until Shikamaru started to spend more and more time with him that he was able to appreciate small gestures of kindness. He knew the weight of his actions on Naruto and was proud to be able to call him a friend.

Omake

Hinata [clearly flustered]: Oh no please, don't make me tell him so soon! Its embarrassing!

Director: Look, you'll tell him when I think you should tell him okay? No if's or buts.

Naruto [poofing out of nowhere]: Hahaha you said butts!

Hinata [do I really need to say she's blushing?]: O-Oh N-Naruto-kun!

Naruto [pouting]: Come on Hinata, we aren't on camera, you can drop the honorifics.

Hinata [struggling]: Oh, s-sorry, N-Naruto-ku.. Naruto-K...

Cameraman [snickering]: Are your lines written to include the stutters? Or are you really just this nervous around your cr...

[Hinata shrieks and juukens the shit out of the cameraman, causing screen to shake and black out]

A/N (Cont.): Well there it is, first chapter, how was it? What did you think? Its not too late to suggest changes, since I have just started. Keep in mind that I am not a writer by trade, (I actually do software engineering), but nevertheless I want to write so I'll have to improve myself. Like I said, this chapter is a bit of a test to see how such a series would do. I still need to flesh out most of the story, (I still haven't planned all of Part I lol). At this point I have a notes file that has some general details but I need to solidify my ideas and create story arcs based on how I want the story to go. If you want to get a better sense of my current level of skill, read "Hinata's Birthday". It doesn't cover every facet of storytelling in great detail but I feel like it has a little bit of everything. Please leave reviews if you want me to continue or if you think I should release a second chapter as a test. Your feedback means the world to me. Keep in mind that in the case that I do start, it may take several weeks if not a month for some chapters to come out since I am in college and this is just kind of a hobby of mine.